Belgian invasion in 'village of 1 euro'

mussomeli - A tiny, idyllic village in Sicily is massively bought by Belgians. In Mussomeli there are many houses for sale for 1 euro and the southern neighbors have benefited from this, to the delight of the village itself. 'They saved us.'

The Belgian Flavio Cioffi (33)- with Italian origin- wandered through the village of his wife's grandmother, when he suddenly smelled his chance: 'When the elderly die, their children do not know what to do with those old houses. In order to escape the vacancy tax, they want to lose it for ridiculously low prices. '

Residents therefore want to avoid tax. Cioffi understood it, and set up the 1 euro project: a win-win situation. Alderman Tito Nigrelli is happy. 'The Belgians really jumped on that opportunity: it is unbelievable how much they come here. We are very happy with their arrival, because they are our saviors. '

There is hardly any employment in the village, Het Nieuwsblad describes. Young people are leaving. The elderly die. The empty spaces are now filled in by 105 Walloons and two Flemings. 'It's really going to be Klein Belgium, because there are only nine hundred inhabitants there', says Cioffi.

The houses for 1 euro do require a substantial renovation. According to Cioffi itself, remodeling can start from 15,000 euros. 'There are also larger houses for sale that you have much less work for, say, 10,000 euros. And very large villas for less than 50. 000. There are still a few hundred houses for sale. '