Underpopulated cities in the south of Italy started a course of attracting newcomers. Donato Toma, president of Molise, offers visitors €700 per month for 3 years just for living in one of those neglected regions. By introducing this program he wants to revive those areas and raise the standards of living.

Conditions for visitors

However, here is one trap potential residents can come across. A village in the underpopulated region must have less than 2,000 local people, and potential newcomers should open and run a business there. Only in this case, they can apply for this program.

Besides, the president of Molise mentions that such an offer is launched only to get rid of any charity gestures that the government has previously tried to implement to save regions from people drain. Now, foreigners who want to live legally there can invest money into the economy of the city. They can run any type of legal business, including shops, restaurants, hotels.

Also

A president stated that each town with less than 2,000 inhabitants will receive about €10,000 aimed to develop and enlarge the infrastructure and promote regional culture. So, young generations can see the perspectives in such cities and will tend to stay rather than leave them for capital.

Current status

As of now, Molise has a population of 305,000 people. It is a city that has lost the highest recorded amount of inhabitants that numbers about 9,000 people. According to statistics conducted in 2018, more than 2,800 people from the previously recorded amount died or moved. Besides, Moliso with nearby towns are the areas where zero birth was registered in 2018.

Such a decrease tendency can be tracked even in towns that have more population but where young people seek ways of working abroad. These events happen due to crisis, low wages, and lack of jobs.

In 90 years, Italy was constantly decreasing in a population that now is about 55 million people only. If checking the data from migrational authorities, during 2014-2018 the number of residents fell by 677,000. It happened because of a decrease in births, and migrations to well-developed countries.

Nevertheless, along with Moliso president, a few mayors including the one from Sutera offer uninhabited homes to refugees from Libya. While Sambuca local people give away for free the abandoned houses to anyone looking for a home.