The Italian government is distributing 103 Italian historic sites—castles, mansions and the like—all for free. If that sounds incredible, let’s tell you why. Italy wants “private and public buildings which are no longer used to be transformed into facilities for pilgrims, hikers, tourists, and cyclists.” The initiative is part of Italy’s Strategic Tourist Plan, an effort by the State Property Agency and Ministry of Cultural Heritage to ease the strain on the country’s major tourist destinations. So you get to choose from fortresses, ancient inns, monasteries farmhouses, castles on a cliff, and even the Orsini-Odescalchi castle in Bracciano, Rome where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes exchanged their vows. But to get your hands on them, you need to submit a proposal by June 26, with a thorough outline of the plan to turn the property into a functioning heritage site for tourists. Successful applicants will then be granted a nine-year lease for the property.
