The Sopranos and Goodfellas star Lorraine Bracco is coming to HGTV October 30th with a show called My Big Italian Adventure. Lorraine has bought a house in Italian in Sambuca, Sicily for one euro and has three years to renovate according to the promotional contract. She soon finds out that the undertaking is big as it is a crumbling structure without lights, a bathroom or running water. Here’s more on the show from People:
“I believe life is an adventure,” Bracco says in a press release. “When I saw the article that you could buy a house in Sambuca for one euro, I jumped on it. So, I came on the plane. I bought the house. I’m very excited to be here, meet and work with the locals, and live amongst them. I’m here to pay homage to my family that comes from Sicily.”
The Sambuca one-euro program was created by the mayor as a way to bring a resurgence of citizens back to the historic town, which has seen much of its younger generation leave for bigger cities such as Palermo, the capital of Sicily, in recent years.
There is one big catch: the program requires that centuries-old homes be renovated within three years of purchase, ensuring that those that buy that homes do intend to help breathe life back into the town.
The series follows the 65-year-old actress as she says “ciao” to a 1,075-square-foot, 200-year-old property in a hilltop town on the island, located just off the “toe” of Italy’s boot.
She quickly finds out her home is crumbling from the inside out (the walls, floors, and roof are all deteriorating) and has no electricity, running water, kitchen or bathrooms.
With the help of an architect, contractor, translator and several friends new and old, Bracco guts the home, overcoming challenges as she works to finish the renovations within the time frame stipulated by the town. Fans will watch as the actress turn the old house into a place she and her family can call their Italian retreat for years to come, honoring her family history along the way.
[From People]
I definitely plan to tune into this show because 1) I love reno shows and 2) I lived in Sicily for two years and I know how SLOWLY Sicilians work so the show will be a comedy for me. I have seen these ads for the one euro homes and I know that more than likely a person would have to sink at least $150k in renovations. I am still interested in purchasing one for a retreat home though. Plus Sicily is stunning. There is a city called Gela where you can stand on the beach on a clear day and see the North African shore. There are also a mix of black sand and white sand beaches throughout the island.
I haven’t been back to Sicily in over twenty years but I have fond memories of it. The people are some of the kindest I have ever met. And Sicilians consider themselves Sicilian not Italian. Sicilian food is exceptional. In fact if you were to tell someone in mainland Italy that you were going to Sicily they’d say, “Mangia bene.” That means you will eat well as the best cuisine in Italy is in Sicily. It is a mix of Italian, Spanish, Greek, and N. African flavors. Sicily is the crossroads between Southern Europe, N. Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It has been conquered many times including by the Normans and Vikings which is why some people on the Island have blonde hair and blue eyes.
I am sure Lorraine will be on a journey and what better place to be than the beautiful island of Sicily? The landscape alone will make the process bearable and let me tell you she will need a sh*t ton of patience to get through the Italian bureaucracy which can be an absolute nightmare. I think the show will also be an honest idea of what to expect if I decide to purchase one of those one euro homes in the future. I am currently saving my pennies.
OMG, a friend and I have been talking about buying one of these 1 euro homes on Italy’s mainland. Can’t wait to watch the show!
I wanna see the final cost and see if she’ll still be sane at the end of the process. If all still good, I could decide whether or not I could do it myself. Those ads were very compelling!
My husband and I have joked about this but you actually do need to have a ton of liquid cash for this to work; there are requirements in the sale that you upgrade the property in line with the historical nature of the building. So you can’t knock it down and rebuild, you have to build in a fairly traditional style and many of the sites are really hard to get to with modern building equipment. So it’s not cheap.
Plus, unless the laws changed, ex-pats from outside Europe can’t just buy private property in Italy, I think you have to go through some kind of strawman to make the purchase (though it’s been a few years since I first learned that so I have no idea if it’s still the case or if there’s exceptions for second homes).
But, heck, a girl can dream.
Agree. I think renovation would be even more complicated for an island like Sicily:
1. If there are several houses sold and being renovated by various individuals, they have to compete for laborers, electricians, plumbers, possibly even bricklayers and stonemasons, all of whom are in limited supply. May even require specialized labor to meet the requirements the build in line with the historical nature. Additionally, the cost of labor is much higher.
2. Competition for resources to renovate. I would also bet that there are restrictions on the types of materials you can use to build, perhaps even restrictions on where you can get those materials. A lot of materials might have to be shipped from the continent, increasing the time and cost.
3. If the buyer is going to oversee or personally work on the renovation, they need a place to live while the project is ongoing: so rent and other living expenses would be another big cost.
4. Surrounding infrastructure. Why do some of these houses not have electricity or indoor plumbing? What kind of modifications have to be made, what kind of permits, etc, need to be obtained to access the electrical grid, water and sewage systems?
5. Europe has a completely different culture around time and deadlines. The US has a culture of “have to meet a certain deadline, do everything possible to meet it.” But the urgency of a US buyer who feels pressure to complete the renovation within a certain amount of time, to the extent they try to make people work extra long days, work on weekends and holidays; that is not going to go over well.
This really isn’t a DIY. You need the right connections who can navigate all the bureaucracy, understand the requirements for building, broker all the necessary agreements, coordinate supplies, labor, equipment among the locals. Presumably HGTV can line up all the necessary contacts for Lorraine, but this is a completely different kind of renovation.
Me, too! I’ve been drooling over the properties online and dreaming of this.
Me, too! I’ve been drooling over the properties online and dreaming of this.
I cant wait to watch this show. My husband’s family is from Sicily, we went for our honeymoon, and I would be back in a heartbeat. Dealing with the bureaucracy and politics to renovate will be interesting (and knowing when you’re getting ripped off of not)
I need to look into this – what a cool idea!
I’m not normally into HGTV shows, but I’d actually watch this. Ever since I read about those offers, I’ve been curious as to how many people have bought these houses and what they had to go through to renovate them.
I am watching the hell out of this! Gonna be some fine escapist TV, this!
Under the Tuscan Sun, revisited.
I wanna get in on this!
I saw a few people something similar on a different show with a cheap house in France. The ones that succeeded had a contractor or a builder in the family and did a lot of the work themselves. Hard expensive work but amazing results!
I’ve marked this on my calendar. I want to live vicariously and it’s my only way to travel to Europe right now.
Didn’t 60 Minutes cover this at one time?
THIS is soooo cool. Where else but Celebitchy are you gonna find cool posts about SICILY?!?! Really liking your stuff, Oya!
This sounds wonderful to watch! Maybe less wonderful to be involved in if you don’t have a bucket of cash but I’ll bet it will be very inspiring.
Yes! All about this show. The average home price where I live is about $500k(for starter home), so my husband and I decided to spend that money in Sicily instead, because we don’t have the home improvement skills or patience for the €I houses. This is our plan to escape the US and have smoke free summers. Also if Oya wanted to write a longer post about her time in Sicily, I am 💯 here for it.
Yes! I want to hear more, too, Oya! 🙂
Good for you; Italy is such a lovely place to visit.
“have smoke free summers.” – Isn’t it scary how this view is so common now? Down Under where I live we are planning to get out every year during the bushfire season too (when COVID restrictions are lifted). Can’t think about this (climate change) too much or it becomes too depressing!
Maybe I will do one on my website or my Youtube channel. I am not sure if I cant fit it in here. LOL. But I still have friends there that amazing. Miss that place.
This was an outstanding article with the added historical & personal info. Brava, Oya!
Well – you’ve convinced me. Gotta figure out a way to get to Sicily when travel is ok again.
So gonna watch this! Love Lorraine since her work on Goodfellas and International house reno programmes are my jam! Another great one is Escape to the Chateau which I highly recommend
I would love to do this, having never been. I’m part Italian but I believe we hail from the northern part on the border, I think. Italy is on my list of places to explore, with Sicily included. Your description makes me want to go even more.
Italy is the most beautiful place; France is so overrated. I subscribe to an Italy enewsletter and they’re always advertising such beautiful villas and properties for sale, but I’m always thinking how run down they must be on the inside.
Really liking your articles, Oya! And I am afraid to turn channel to HGTV because I end up not being able to stop watching. A couple of weekends ago, I spent like six hours watching that Home Town show marathon. Oh who am I kidding, I’ll be watching this.