There's a place on the Italian island of Sicily where you're increasingly likely to hear an American accent wafting down its narrow streets instead of the local language. Sambuca di Sicilia, which gained a reputation as one of the first places in the country to sell off old houses for next to nothing, is becoming something of an Italian "Little America" after a wave of mostly Americans moved in to snap up bargain properties and breathe new life into the town.

The Sicilian town began attracting overseas buyers in 2019 when it made CNN headlines by selling off 16 dwellings for €1 each, or a little over a dollar. Then again in July 2021 when it offered 10 more old buildings for a symbolic €2 each.