From ruins to a dream home: the 1 euro house renovation experience of a couple in Gangi, Sicily

Buy a house for one euro in Italy in the heart of the Madonie Mountains, in Gangi, Sicily, and then make it into the perfect retreat for the winter. This is what engineer Jerry Vitellaro and his partner Valeria Collesano have done. They have completely renovated a house on four levels in the historic centre of this picturesque village in the province of Palermo. They were among the first in Sicily to embark on this path: 'indeed,' says Jerry Vitellaro, 'perhaps even among the first in Italy'.

Why did you, a Sicilian from Caltanissetta, choose this village in the Madonie Mountains for your 1 euro house?

Years before, my partner and I had gone on a trip to Gangi and we loved the village. Then, when the 1 euro house opportunity came up, remembering that trip we decided to look into it and see if it was possible to embark on this kind of experience. And it went really well.

Vitellaro

Can you tell me what the ruin you bought was like and what it is like today?

It was a structure that had been abandoned for many years, located near the main street and over four levels. In the basement there was a stable: almost all the houses in the historic centre of Gangi had a stable on the ground floor for animals, which in other times served as a means of locomotion. On the upper floors were the living room, the bedroom and, on the top floor, the kitchen. We had to redo practically everything: the roof, the technological systems, the fixtures, the floors and the interior finishes. Nothing had to be recovered except the volume and the architectural elements as a whole. The total intervention allowed us to convert the barn into a kitchen. We then tried to use salvaged materials as much as possible to keep the historical memory of the structure alive, which we believe is important.

Can you give us some examples? 

For example, the dressed stone steps of a staircase that could no longer be used: so as not to lose these artefacts that had been worked by skilled hands, we used them as window sills. In two rooms there were machined cement mash floors: they too were recovered and reused. Then, for all the wooden structures we used the local chestnut tree.  

1 euro house before and after Vitellaro

May I ask, did you buy the house for yourself or to start a business?

We did it for ourselves, me and my partner, also to have a reference point in winter in the Madonie area. But above all for our two children, Antonio and Giulia, to whom we always try to transfer our passion for what can be restored and reused, especially if it is linked to our territory and our traditions.

Was it burdensome to follow such complex work?

I am an engineer and I personally took care of the renovation. This, of course, helped us: because when faced with such an important job, it would have been easy to get discouraged. Instead, with a little experience, it was easier to imagine what could come out of it and the end result. We then used local labour and our house, in a way, served as a 'prototype', in Gangi, for other people who then decided to embark on such an adventure.

Did you have to face any obligations?

Yes, of course. The municipal regulation imposed the obligation of paying a security deposit before carrying out the work and of presenting a project within a tight timeframe. They also stated that the use of the property should have been residential, not commercial.

I have read that in the village of Gangi people have also arrived in droves from other countries to buy 1 euro houses. Do you already have any foreign neighbours?

I can confirm, there are lots of them. There has been a boom in the municipality that has also prompted many locals to convert their homes into accommodation to cope with a demand from abroad, even simply for tourism, which is very often greater than the supply.

Is it really worth buying a house for one euro in the end? What are the pros and cons?

Our investment is not speculative and normally those who buy houses for 1 euro do so because they love the place they have chosen. Of course then over time these properties can revalue, but currently - at least in these areas - the investment you make is not within market prices. If we were to decide today to sell the property we renovated, we would probably not get back the money we spent: for now, at least, there is no such market. Let's say it can be an investment over time. However, the fact that we have restored a property destined for abandonment or collapse is good for the country but also for all those who invest in restoration and renovation: it is a team game that benefits everyone.

Vitellaro

Did you have to deal with any particular bureaucracy? 

I must say that there was the greatest willingness on the part of the municipal administration, especially to speed things up. The bureaucracy to be complied with is the normal bureaucracy, you don't get granted any exceptions.    

Is it correct that the municipality acts as an intermediary between those who want to sell the old buildings and those who want to buy them?

The owners of these buildings, many of whom are abroad or in any case live outside or in other areas of the borough, give their availability to the municipality, which regulates the conditions and draws up a list. But then the deed is done between private individuals.

Is it right that you were among the first in Sicily to buy a house for 1 euro ?

Yes: next to the Salemi experience (where the Casa a 1 euro project was among the first to start, but with some initial hiccups, ed.), we were certainly the first in Gangi and among the first in Sicily and perhaps even in Italy.

Vitellaro

Vitellaro

Vitellaro