You Can’t Get a €1 House in Montezara but Here’s Where You Can

Where Is ‘La Dolce Villa’ Based?

According to TheWrap, the scenes of Montezara were filmed primarily in San Quirico D’orcia, a charming town just south of Siena in Tuscany. The exterior of the villa was filmed at Torrino del Gelsi, an agriturismo outside of Rome. The interior of the villa was, not so excitedly, shot at a film studio in Rome. 

So while you can’t recreate Olivia’s Italian dream to a tee, you actually can buy a rundown villa in a small town and give it a go. 

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The €1 Housing Scheme in Italy

As I mentioned, you actual can get a house in Italy for €1* but that asterisk is a very big one. For starters, I was actually impressed with how realistic they made the homes that were available for purchase.

You likely won’t find somewhere liveable. These homes are more like placeholders that’ll need a lot of work, investment, and love. While I’ll talk about the fine print in a second, keep in mind that you can’t just come in and bulldoze your house and start over. Italy is all about preservation and a big part in your homeowner agreement is keeping the original home intact. 

Here’s the inside scoop on buying a home in Italy.

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The Fine Print

Sure the house costs €1 but you’ll have to fork over much more than that to actually get your home.

Here’s what you’ll actually need to pay for your €1 home:

• A deposit (generally between €5,000-20,000)
• Notary fees
• Property taxes
• Renovation expenses (generally between €25,000-100,000+)

The exact numbers here will depend on the location, the home itself, and the work you need or want done. Here’s a look at some examples of real costs.

Most contracts require you to show proof of funds to complete the project within 1-3 years. If all goes to plan, you’ll get your deposit back.

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Living Here Year-Round

Now that we’ve been living in Italy for a few years, admittedly not in a €1 house, I can say with full confidence that Italian bureaucracy is a headache. There will be hoops to jump through, appointments in-person you’ll have to schedule, and paperwork galore. 

And all that doesn’t give you the right to live in your new home year-round, unless you’re an EU citizen. While any nationality can purchase one of the €1 homes, it doesn’t come with residency. 

Most nationalities are allowed 90-days in the EU every 180-days without the need of a residence permit. If you want to live in your new home year-round, you’ll have to find the right visa path in order to do so.

My husband and I are able to live here on his work visa. There are a number of other visa options to move here but owning a home here isn’t reason enough to get one.

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Where You Can Get a €1 Home

This offer isn’t available in the entire country and is only in a handful of specific areas. Most of the homes can be found in the south of Italy, with a few options in central and northern Italy.

Just so you know, San Quirico D’orcia isn’t on the list.

As of publication, the towns offering the scheme upon availability of homes are:

Northern Italy

• Albugnano (Piedmont)
• Borgomezzavalle (Piedmont)
• Carrega Ligure (Piedmont)
• Oyace (Valle d’Aosta)
• Milano (Lombardia)
• Pignone (Liguria)
• Triora (Liguria)

Central Italy

• Fabbriche di Vergemoli (Toscana)
• Montieri (Toscana)
• Cantiano (Marche)
• Monte Urbano (Marche)
• Maenza (Lazio)
• Patrica (Lazio)
• Santi Cosma e Damiano (Lazio)
• Casoli (Abruzzo)
• Lecce nei Marsi (Abruzzo)
• Penne (Abruzzo)
• Pratola Peligna (Abruzzo)
• Santo Stefano di Sassanio (Abruzzo)

Southern Italy

• Castropignano (Molise)
• Candela (Puglia)
• Biccari (Puglia)
• Caprarica di Lecce (Puglia)
• Taranto (Puglia)
• Laurenzana (Basilicata)
• Acerenza (Basilicata)
• Chiaromonte (Basilicata)
• Ripacandida (Basilicata)
• Altavilla Salentina (Campania)
• Bisaccia (Campania)
• Pietramelara (Campania)
• Teora (Campania)
• Zungoli (Campania)
• Albidona (Calabria)
• Belcastro (Calabria)
• Bisignano (Calabria)
• Cinquefrondi (Calabria)
• Maida (Calabria)
• Rose (Calabria)

Sardinia

• Bonnanaro
• Ollolai
• Romana
• Montresta
• Nulvi

Sardinia is one of the best places we’ve visited so far in Italy…just saying!

Sicily

• Augusta
• Bivona
• Calatafimi Segesta
• Caltagirone
• Cammarata
• Canicattì
• Castel di Lucio
• Castiglione di Sicilia
• Corleone
• Gangi
• Grotte
• Itala
• Leonfronte
• Mussomeli
• Palma di Montechiaro
• Petralia Soprana
• Pettineo
• Piazza Armerina
• Racalmuto
• Regalbuto
• Salemi
• Sambuca di Sicilia
• San Biagio Platani
• San Cataldo
• San Piero Patti
• Saponara
• Serradifalco
• Termini Imerese
• Troina
• Valguarnera Caropepe

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Will You Find Your Montezara?

While you can’t get a €1 house in Montezara because…well, Montezara doesn’t exist, the €1 housing scheme in Italy is very real. Just be sure to keep in mind the fine print and the fact that your dream will need a few more zeros at the end of that one.