“The Germans have conquered our village!” reads the headline of Castelfalfi’s local giornale, Il Tirreno. It sounds shocking to read that Germans are purchasing an entire Italian village, but once you know more details, it’s really not such a bad idea. Andrea Mechacci, a resident of the Castelfalfi tells the British newspaper The Guardian, “If it remains as it is, then the village is dead… Any life German tourists brought with them would be welcome.”
The village of Tenuta de Castelfalfi, which sits just north of Siena in Tuscany, has been a city thirsting for a revival, but the funds needed to restore it have been out of reach. In fact, since 1970, every decade has promised that some large investor would come to revitalize the town, but all projected plans have fallen through, leaving all five (yes, 5!) of its remaining citizens a bit skeptical.