Ciao, bella ! Italy is giving away centuries old castles and villas for free, with a couple little catches.
First, they're not really giving them away, but leasing them to you for nine years. And while the lease is free, you've got to shell out molto bucks to rehab the crumbling castello . And, one more thing, you've got to open it to the public.
The primo locations include the 13th-century Castello di Montefiore outside of San Marino, the 11th-century Castello di Blera - not too far from Rome - and the Bracciano castle, Orsini-Odescalchi, where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes said "I do," in 2006.
To be considered for this privilege, submit a proposal by June 26, with a complete plan of how you'll turn the property into a functioning heritage site for tourists.
Giving away the historic sites and pitting the responsibility of managing them on civilians is the country's way of trying to ease the overwhelming number of turisti sightseeing across its major cities. Italy is hoping that the initiative will attract visitors to little-known areas outside of the typical destinations. It's called Italy's Strategic Tourist Plan and was created by the State Property Agency and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
"The goal is for private and public buildings which are no longer used to be transformed into facilities for pilgrims, hikers, tourists and cyclists," Roberto Reggi, the director general of the State Property Agency told The Local.
Recently, Rome began banning tour buses from crowding the city's center while Venice is limiting the number of tourists allowed in the Floating City after friendly signs posted by locals reading "Tourists go away! You are destroying this area," made their point loud and clear, Conde Nast Traveler reported.
Don't worry if you don't make the cut right away - if the distribution of these historical beauties goes well, Italy has 200 more sites in mind for the same purpose over the next few years.
In the meantime, we'll practice rolling our r's and pick out a few favorite Italian words. Mine is attraversiamo - meaning "let's cross over," a word that'll come in handy while exploring the rolling hills of Tuscany. Bellissimo !