A golden deal for Americans who want to leave the country. The municipality of Ollolai (Italy), in Sardinia, is trying at all costs to repopulate itself by offering American citizens the chance to come and live in its small village by purchasing a house for the sum of… one euro. As several companies have done since the American presidential election, the town is trying to ride on the result of the latter to attract those most disappointed with the election of Donald Trump.
“Are you exhausted by the political atmosphere? Are you looking for a more balanced lifestyle while having access to new opportunities? It’s time to start building your European escape in the dazzling paradise of Sardinia,” we can read on a dedicated site launched by the municipality. What follows is a salivating description of this magnificent village “nestled in untouched nature, surrounded by incredible cuisine and immersed in a community with ancient traditions, in this rare Blue Zone of the Earth”.
Mayor Francesco Columbu told CNN the site was created specifically to attract American voters following the presidential elections. “We really want the Americans to be the first to be affected, and we're going to focus on them,” he said. “We obviously can't prohibit people from other countries from applying, but Americans will benefit from a fast-track process. We are banking on them to help us revive the village, they are our winning asset. »
“Of course, we cannot specifically mention the name of a newly elected American president, but we all know that he is the one that many Americans want to get away from and leave the country,” Francesco said. Columbo, without mentioning Donald Trump.
The village offers three types of offers with firstly free temporary accommodation for digital nomads, one-euro houses requiring renovations, then habitable houses for prices of up to 100,000 euros.
An announcement which is already a real success since the mayor claims that the town hall website has received no less than 38,000 requests for information on the houses, mainly from the United States.
The remote paradise of Ollolai has shrunk from a population of 2,250 to 1,300 over the past century, recording only a handful of births each year. CNN specifies that many families left the village during times of economic crisis, in search of work and a better life. In recent years, the population has further declined to barely 1,150 inhabitants.
