Active residency income: an alternative to 1-euro houses?

Calabria is about to find out whether this approach can revive its depopulated countryside

Calabria is a region in the Italian south, and to most people, it is perhaps known as the part that forms the ‘toes’ of the boot-shaped country. Its regional government is in the process of waiting for clearance from the Ministry of Economic Development on a programme, which will give the chance to repopulate nine villages with young and enterprising people.

The programme bears the name of ‘active residency income’ and is meant to be an alternative to the 1-euro houses, with which Italian municipalities had been grabbing the world’s attention in recent years. The essence of the plan is to pay newcomers a regular monthly income for three years - provided they meet certain conditions, of course.

The ‘who’, the ‘what’, the ‘where’

The project in Calabria is the brainchild of the regional councillors for Agriculture and Economic Development, Gianluca Gallo and Fausto Orsomarso. Although to be fair, it is an idea that was previously taken up by the region of Molise right before the start of the pandemic. We could not find information on how it has continued to develop in the latter region, but there were reports that there had been a strong interest, especially from Latin American countries and India.

The Calabrian authorities have set aside some 700 thousand euros for the initiative. In more concrete terms, this would translate to a monthly income of about 700-800 euros for a duration of three years. But this is where the question of eligibility also springs up.

So don’t pack your suitcases for your new vita italiana just yet. Only those who have reached the age of majority but are also not older than 40 may submit a request for admission to the programme. The candidates have to transfer their permanent residence to one of the Calabrian municipalities, adhering to the initiative – all of which count less than 2,000 inhabitants.

The domicile move must happen within 90 days from the communication of acceptance of their application. The settlers must come either from an Italian municipality with a population greater than 2 thousand inhabitants or from another country.

As for the participating villages, they are spread throughout the mountainous terrain of Calabria. All of them are fairly close to the coast and feature traditional architecture - with one of them (Bova) colloquially known as the ‘balcony of Calabria’. The others are: Samo, Sant’Agata del Bianco, Cuccuri, Santa Severina, Aieta, Albidona, Civita and San Donato di Ninea.

The programme is also an alternative to ‘remote working’

In the wake of the pandemic and the economic slump, many destinations started thinking about ways of attracting digital nomads to their shores. This plan, however, is meant to promote the case for ‘south working’, rather than remote working. Details on how this will be achieved are yet to be released but reportedly the goal is to bring in people who will be more closely involved in the development of their communities – hence, the term ‘active residency’.

"It is a concrete response to the depopulation of inland areas that still have a lot to say in terms of architectural and tourist enhancement. These are small municipalities which are the true identity of our territory and which risk being extinguished,” explained Councilor Gallo.

He added: “Encouraging the movement of many citizens and tourists from larger areas means allowing both the rebirth of small villages and the redemption of all those young Calabrians who want to take up a job. It is a social response, but also an entrepreneurial one, for those who want to take risks and live a different life. And it is a response to our small communities that still have a great desire to continue living”.