“Are you interested in working remotely from beautiful Sardinia for just €1?” reads a message on a single-page website seeking to entice foreigners to relocate temporarily to a small village in Italy.
Located in the heart of Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, Ollolai belongs to one of the five areas in the world known as ‘blue zones’ - they have a high proportion of people who live over the age of 100.
For a rental fee of just €1 ($1.60) a month, the local council is promising 10 selected newcomers ‘close proximity to untouched nature, delectable cuisine, and the incredible nearby beaches.’ The village also prides itself on its traditional basket weaving, sheep cheese making, and the ancient Sardinian style of wrestling.
It’s not the first time the local council has tried to attract foreigners as part of a broader push in Italy to repopulate small towns and villages by offering cheap property.
A few years ago, Ollolai made international headlines when it started selling abandoned houses for €1 on the condition their new owners renovate them. The offer went so viral that the Dutch television network RTL made a reality show in Ollolai following five couples as they settled in the village and renovated their assigned houses. The winners received €20,000 ($32,000) and reportedly turned their property into a B&B for tourists.
To date, the council has sold 13 homes, and three - in poor condition - are still on sale.
The village of Ollolai sits on the mountain slopes in the Barbagia region in the heart of Sardinia. Credit: Comune di Ollolai
In March 2022, the Italian government passed a law on the new ‘digital nomad visa’ for highly-skilled remote workers from outside the European Union. But it hasn’t been introduced yet. Non-EU residents can still get a temporary visa to work remotely from Italy.
“Revitalising the country, improving the life of the inhabitants and curbing depopulation, these are the objectives we have set for ourselves,” Ollolai mayor Francesco Columbu said in a statement.
In exchange for practically free accommodation, participants are asked to contribute their knowledge and ideas to the local community through presentations, classes, or projects.
Veronica Matta is an anthropologist and president of the Sa Mata association that is helping the local council with the project. She calls it an interesting social experiment.
“It’s not just about an opportunity to come and stay here but also about the way how the newcomers are going to interact with the rest of the village, and how their presence is going to change the village,” she told SBS Dateline.
Bodybuilding connection
The application is open to all nationalities but the local council is giving preference to Americans because of its 'special bond to the United States' through the famous bodybuilder Franco Columbu (no relation to the mayor).
Born in Ollolai, Columbu was a shepherd-turned-boxer who eventually gained fame as a bodybuilder. He won the most prestigious bodybuilding titles, including Mr Universe and two Mr Olympias.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu on the set of Conan the Barbarian in 1982. Credit: Instagram @schwarzenegger
Although Columbu settled in the US and later became a citizen, he maintained close ties with his home village and would visit it every year. He produced three films shot in his native Sardinia.
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