by Elisabetta Povoledo

Looking for a home? One Sicilian town is making an offer that is hard to refuse: It is giving away houses. There is a catch, naturally. The properties in Gangi, a picturesque central town that straddles the Madonie Mountains, are generally dilapidated, some abandoned generations ago. 

The structures give new meaning to the term "fixer-upper," and anyone who acquires one of the properties has just four years to restore it and make it livable. But the offer has already lured dozens of holiday home hunters from around the world, and Gangi's novel approach to revival has brought fresh opportunities to local builders and tradesmen while energizing tourism.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/