They bought a $ 1 house in Italy, then covid-19 attacked

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Get to know the Italian town where you can buy a villa for a euro 1:06

(CNN) -  When Italian cities began offering houses for sale for just over $ 1, they inspired legions of dreamers to risk moving to a remote corner of Italy.

Although spending an extra few thousand dollars on property renovation was generally part of the deal, that was sweetened by the prospect of a new life in an idyllic corner of a beautiful country.

And then the coronavirus attacked, plunging the world into crisis, with Italy among the most affected countries.

So what happens when you are quarantined in a dilapidated house in a remote village where you barely speak the language and can't get home with your loved ones? Does life quickly turn into a nightmare?

Perhaps surprisingly, given the difficulties that followed, the answer seems to be no.

CNN spoke to some people who bought some of the Italian houses that the towns were offering at a low price and who wanted to reverse the downward trend in the population.

We find them optimistic and eager to complete the remodeling of their property and make their Italian dream come true.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, it seems that being stuck in Italy has not been such a negative experience after all.

And the virus crisis has made them appreciate even more the beauty of Italy's rural villages, so much so that some seek to invest in cheaper properties.

Lose track

Miami-based artist Álvaro Solórzano is currently stuck in Mussomeli, a picturesque town on the southern island of Sicily, where he bought two cheap properties last year, one of them for just a euro or just over a dollar.

In March he arrived with his wife, son and son's girlfriend to start renovating houses. The other three returned to Miami and Solórzano was due to follow them a couple of weeks later, but then their flight was canceled.

"I lost the notion of time. We came here together and I ended up living the quarantine in Mussomeli alone, with no furniture, just a bed and a TV, and no one to talk to, "he tells CNN. "That was the most difficult thing. If my wife or son had been with me, it would have been different. "

Solórzano had stayed in a B&B, but when it closed due to restrictions on covid-19, he was forced to move to the less dilapidated of his two properties, which was almost habitable.

Since then, he has been killing time watching television, learning Italian, going to the supermarket ("the best part of the day") and talking on the phone with his family. Little by little, he has made the most of the situation by repairing and painting the walls of the house.

"I did little things but it helped me occupy the time, so when my son and his girlfriend return, their home will be ready," he says. "Fortunately, the hardware store in the city has always been open and I am very happy to have bought two properties and not just the one-euro house, as it has no water or electricity."

WATCH : PHOTOS | Bisaccia, another Italian town that is selling houses for 1 euro

Local heroes

Despite initial difficulties, he says his new neighbors helped him during the test.

"The first two nights were terrible," he says. “It was cold, I slept with my jacket over my pajamas but the neighbors were great. I can not complain. They gave me heaters and even offered me blankets, which I had, but I could use their internet. ”

“They kept checking how I was, they brought me tons of food for Easter, which took me three days to eat. I don't know what I would have done without them. ”

The neighbors gave Easter cakes to Solórzano.

Mussomeli, surrounded by honeysuckle and eucalyptus, boasts one of the most impressive fortresses in Italy, known as the Enchanted Castle, which clings like a spider to a pointed rock.

The fertile green farmland is dotted with ancient sulfur mines, shrines, Roman necropolis, and remnants of primitive settlements.

The name of the city means "Cerro de la Miel" in Latin.

But for Solórzano the sweetest attractions of the place are its welcoming residents.

"They are wonderful, I know everyone by name," he says. “There's Mario, the guy who delivers the bread. I have no words to describe how grateful I am to have them and I don't know how I could pay them for everything they did. ”

Initially, severe restrictions have now been eased in Italy, allowing her to walk, but at first it was difficult, she admits, since there was nothing to do. "It was terrible, just staying home, sometimes I had the feeling of being in jail."

READ : Italy enters "full regime" in phase 2

Property empire

Solórzano says he knows everyone by name.

Now he enjoys being able to chat with the locals and stroll to the Mussomeli viewpoint, where he can sit on a bench and enjoy the fresh air and mountain views.

As a painter, Solórzano says that he would have loved to make some works of art, but due to confinement he could not find a palette or a canvas.

Solórzano wants to buy another property in Mussomeli.

"I'm working hard to try to get home, but a flight I recently booked was also canceled, so I really don't know when I'm going back to the United States," he says. “I want to go back before Father's Day in June. I have already missed so many festivities that I could have celebrated with my family. ”

Solórzano's Sicilian quarantine has made him love Mussomeli even more. The terrible experience, instead of having killed the enthusiasm for his adventure in a one-euro house, has fueled the desire to buy a third abandoned building.

“I love this city and the people, even if they don't know you, help you. It is like being in another world. You don't have this in America. "

Stuck in Tuscany

Brazilian Douglas Roque, pictured with his cousin, has been trapped in Tuscany during the Italian confinement.

Brazilian businessman Douglas Roque is another ruined home buyer whose enthusiasm for starting a new life has not been affected by the coronavirus.

Roque was in Fabbriche di Vergemoli, Tuscany, overseeing the renovation of a one-euro farm house when the confinement arrived and his flight back home was canceled.

Along with their Brazilian-Italian friend Alberto Da Lio, both from Sao Paulo, the two were also in town to oversee the possible purchase of an entire abandoned area for other Brazilian buyers.

If they couldn't have stayed in Da Lio's family home near Venice, with the hotels in Vergemoli closed and the abandoned house completely uninhabitable, they would have had nowhere to go, says Roque.

Roque, right, in the photo with the Mayor of Fabbriche di Vergermoli, Michele Giannini.

Fabbriche di Vergemoli is a group of villages scattered in the protected forest of the Apuan Alps, protected by UNESCO. The area is dotted with ruins of abandoned miners' houses invaded by vegetation. Many areas can only be reached on foot.

Roque's shabby three-story farmhouse, which comes with a cellar of chestnuts and old and forgotten wine barrels, is located in the Dogana neighborhood, where a pristine stream runs underneath an old, picturesque bridge.

"The redesign was about to start and then everything was blocked," says Roque. “It was terrible, our return flight was canceled and we had problems with the Brazilian consulate.

“I came here in February to look for the renovation of my house, all the paperwork was done, I was ready but I couldn't move in with this. And my family is in Brazil, where virus cases have increased. I am concerned about them and they are concerned about me. ”

READ : OPINION | Brazil is an explosive cocktail

Dream destination

Roque is also trying to buy other houses in the town for Brazilian compatriots.

The two friends also had to deal with the consequences of an extended stay: the inconvenience of monthly credit card limits and seasonal clothing changes, because when they arrived it was winter and it is already spring (fortunately, they found some more clothes light at Da Lio's).

While waiting for global air traffic to resume, Roque is eager to step on Vergemoli again as soon as Italian authorities lift restrictions on moving between regions - I anticipated a move in early June.

“All this time I have been trying to work on my project online, contacting construction companies and establishing contacts with other Brazilian buyers, friends and family interested in buying properties in Vergemoli but who cannot travel now. I hope to finish everything soon ”.

Roque says he chose Vergemoli of all the places in Italy to buy a one-euro house because, despite everything that happened, it is still a dream destination.

Tuscany is a wonderful region and important historical and artistic cities are nearby. It is the perfect place. ”

Italy