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We gave up the rat race and bought a house in Italy for less than £1 – our bills cost just £50 a year too
May 16, 2025
WATCHING her new friend admire her gorgeous villa in Italy, Sara Bertagnolli hides her smug grin.
“It must have cost you a fortune!” says this British expat while admiring Sara’s gorgeous Italian home.
However, little does she know that Sara, 38, and her husband Luca Sguazzini, 37,have paid less than a pound for the entire building.
The couple are just two of the growing number of people from all over the world who have invested in Italy’s €1 home scheme.
“We bought a 1000-year-old three-bed house for just €1,” Sara says.
“Most people think it’s a joke or a trick, but our village home came in at the equivalent of 84p - you can’t get a bag of crisps for that.
“Our home would have cost £500,000 in London or €350,000 in Rome.
“It's the best decision we've ever made. We’re beating the cost-of-living crisis and giving our children a dream upbringing.”
Former fashion designer PA turned influencer Sara and husband Luca, a former model, live in a three-bedroom terraced house in the village in Motta D'Affermo, Sicily 50 miles east of Palermo, Sicily and are proud parents to daughters Luce, three and five-month-old Aria.
“We are just like hundreds of thousands of mums and dads in Britain,” Sara says.
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“We used to think we could never have enough money to buy even a tiny flat and get onto the property ladder.”
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