This young couple just bought a beautiful medieval home in rural Italy for €1.
The catch?
The €1 house was more than 1,000 years old and in desperate need of more than just a lick of paint.
And while this might seem like a daunting task to most, this couple are no strangers to extreme makeovers.
Sara and Luca, the couple behind the YouTube channel Leave Everything and Wander, have previously transformed a camper van into a tiny home and renovated a house in the Italian Alps too.
Now they wanted to take advantage of the Italian government’s scheme to repopulate their rural towns.
Italians have been moving closer to the big cities and even abroad for better job opportunities.
Now the country has many beautiful towns full of abandoned homes and ageing populations.
So, the government listed a number of properties for sale at just €1 with the hopes that young people would move in and rejuvenate the areas.
After viewing around 20 abandoned ruins, Sara and Luca spent their €1 wisely.
They chose an ancient house on a 1.5-hectare olive grove in Sicily.
Their plan was to first fix up the €1 house so they could move in before beginning to work on the land and ultimately producing their own organic olive oil.
It was clear the home had a lot of potential, with high ceilings, decorative mouldings and the original tiles still intact.
But there were a lot of issues to look past.
The couple hired the help of local builders but did most of the work themselves, including the plumbing, electrics, and floors.
The couple first made waves online when they drove from Alaska to Argentina in a van.
Since then they’ve had a child and are now putting their roots down for good.
Because no one wants to change a nappy in a moving van.
The property also has a huge basement accessible on what they call the ‘castle side’ of their home because of its huge, ancient walls.
This side has a narrow cobblestone street, having been designed in the days when donkeys ruled the roads.
Luckily there’s another entrance which is accessible by car on the other side.
There are also two balconies which look over the whole village and the beach, which is just a 10-minute stroll away.
While the home itself cost just €1, the couple have had to drop some serious cash on the renovations.
Once the task is finished, they’ll reveal what the total project cost, which they still deem inexpensive.
“Even if you are not wealthy, you can do this on a budget,” said Sara.
“You just need to do it step-by-step.”
