Polvere e detriti: $1 Euro Home

photocredit: Tullio Pronesti

2020 was an awful year for humanity. One thing I did receive was both good and bad news. Some of the news was great, but had to be turned down due to travel restrictions. It felt like the universe was playing a joke on me (it had to do with the eyewear and NYFW).

One of the most exciting outcomes of 2020, happened to be luck by taking a risk. Prior to the pandemic late 2019, I stumbled across a travel news article. Discussing a new trend of inexpensive homes in Europe. Some as low as $1!  Well what is the catch? Somethings are too good to be true. The catch is, you have to renovate the $1 home in a timely manner. In areas where properties are selling for "dirt cheap". They're Polvere e detriti, which is Italian for dust and debris. Each region has different requirements, that buyers are obligated to fulfill. The first region I contacted was a property Zungoli, Italy. Most of the available properties. was scooped up, and there are thousands on a waitlist. Then the pandemic happened, I didn't know what would happen next. So I didn't have any thoughts, since life in general was on hold. 

photocredit: Tullio Pronesti

Exactly a year ago last June, another news article popped up on my feed regarding $1 home in Cinquefrondi, Italy (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/one-euro-homes-cinquefrondi-covid-19/index.html.  I immediately googled the region. It's located in Southern Italy, 15 minutes west is the Tyrrhenian Sea. While just 15 minutes east, is the Ionian Sea. A perfect relaxed Mediterranean vibe! So I immediately contacted the commune, and gave it a shot!

  After a few weeks, I was notified that I made it past the preliminary of interest. Wow, through thousands of applications, I made it through the first round. With that in mind, I decided I really wanted to accept this challenge of a vacation home renovation.

So how did I really decide I wanted to get $1 Euro home? I will explain on a follow up post. One thing I kept in mind, is just like Polvere e detriti, we must rise from the dust and debris. But for now, I hope you follow a new journey of my travel and home adventures!