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# Italy Is Giving Away 103 Historical Buildings
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/italy-is-giving-away-103-historical-buildings/
- Published: 2017-05-24T21:07:41.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:27:15.000Z
- Description: This is your chance to own a piece of Italy — but there's a catch.
- Author: Claire Voon
- Tags: In Brief, Historic Preservation, Italy, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/campania-torre-angellara-salerno-ciclopista-sole.jpg)

Torre Angellara in Salemo (all photos courtesy Agenzia Del Demanio)

If you’ve ever yearned to own a rustic villa or even a castle in the Italian countryside, now’s your opportunity to make that dream become reality. The Italian government is currently giving away 103 historic sites, free of charge, to any interested parties — but only to those who pledge to restore these abandoned buildings and transform them into appealing sites for tourists, such as restaurants or hotels.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/serramazzoni_modena_emilia-romagna_torre-della-bastiglia-sole.jpg)

Torre della Bastiglia in Serramazzoni

The [Cammini e Percosi](http://www.agenziademanio.it/opencms/it/ValorePaese/camminiepercorsi/?ref=hyperallergic.com) (Paths and Tracks) program, launched by the State Property Agency and Ministry of Cultural Heritage, arises as a unique way to promote the country’s treasures that lie off the beaten path. It’s also intended as a solution to the overcrowding of popular urban destinations, from Rome to Venice, and one that theoretically guarantees the longterm oversight of neglected sites.

“The project will promote and support the development of the slow tourism sector,” Roberto Reggi, a spokesperson for the State Property Agency, [told](https://www.thelocal.it/20170515/why-italy-is-giving-away-100-historic-buildings-for-free?ref=hyperallergic.com) *The Local*. “The goal is for private and public buildings which are no longer used to be transformed into facilities for pilgrims, hikers, tourists, and cyclists.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/umbria-spoleto-pg-fortilizio-dei-mulini-cammino-di-francesco.jpg)

Fortilizio dei mulini in Spoleto

As its name implies, the properties all lie along historic walking routes or bike paths, from the Via Appia to the [*Ciclopista del Sole*](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciclopista%5Fdel%5FSole?ref=hyperallergic.com)*,* or the Sun Cycle Route, which is part of the EuroVelo7\. Aside from castles and villas, up for grabs are monasteries, defense towers, former schoolhouses, farmhouses, and other one-of-a-kind buildings. Some standouts include the [Tower of the Bastille](http://www.appenninomodenese.net/apmo/index.cfm?event=page&qpTemaID=0&qpTAS3=20212&qpgeo3=0&qpNEWS%5FID=130002991&qpParolaChiave=&qpPeriodoID=0&qpOrderBy=&qpRowNro=22&ref=hyperallergic.com) in Serramazzoni, which will offer unparalleled views of the northern commune; the thick-walled [Torre Angellara](https://www.salernoturistica.it/monumenti/torreAngellara.htm?ref=hyperallergic.com) of Salerno, built in 1563 to fend off invasions; the austere, 10th-century [Montefiore Castle](http://www.iluoghidelsilenzio.it/castello-di-montefiore-recanati-mc/?ref=hyperallergic.com); or the [Fortilizio dei mulini](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortilizio%5Fdei%5FMulini?ref=hyperallergic.com) in Spoleto, a small fortress which once housed grain and olive mills. (A full list is available [here](http://www.agenziademanio.it/export/download/demanio/agenzia/Cammini-e-percorsi-cartella-stampa.pdf?ref=hyperallergic.com).)

Aspiring owners have to fill out [an application](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQ7BsxIw3WPz2KhOPCtyEl-PhIhVhufLBBtBmaMRLszl-Ciw/viewform?c=0&w=1&ref=hyperallergic.com) detailing their plans for the property, which allows you to select up to three desired sites. As *The Local* reported, successful applicants will receive the rights to the property for nine years, after which they will have the option of renewal for an additional nine. In some cases, entrepreneurs who conceive of highly attractive plans may receive a 50-year lease.

The deadline for applications is June 26, but don’t fret if you miss this round, as more opportunities will spring up, with 200 more properties set to be added to the list over the next two years.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/piemonte_torino_san-mauro-torinese_castelletto_ciclopista_vento.jpg)

Castle in San Mauro Torinese

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/puglia_brindisi_fasano_colonia-coppolicchio_ciclovia-acqua.jpg)

Former camp in Fasano

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/puglia_barletta_villa-bonelli_via-francigena.jpg)

Villa Bonelli in Barletta

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/basilicata-via-appia-matera-montescaglioso-grancia-san-maria-del-vetrano.jpg)

Santa Maria Del Vetrano castle in Montescaglioso

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/basilicata-via-appia-irsina-matera-ex-casa-cantoniera.jpg)

House in Irsina

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/lombardia-certosa-di-pavia-pavia-molino-ciclovia-vento.jpg)

Complex in the province of Pavia

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/05/molise-campobasso_sepino_edificio-in-costruzione_tracciati-locali.jpg)

Building in Sepino