Free Rent

They call it Chiantishire for a reason. Tuscany has been picked over for decades--first by the Germans, then by the British and now by the Americans--driving up real estate prices and creating a new moneyed class of natives who loll about Florence during the winter and their "country" homes in the summer.

But there's one place either too remote or simply undiscovered that seems to have missed the memo: The hilltop town of Pari (near Montalcino) is essentially begging people to live the dream under their Tuscan sun. According to The Florentine, the town's population has declined from 1,000 in 1945 to 200 today. To combat the decline, town leaders are offering free rent to employed parents with at least one child and plans to stay. Using the proceeds from the annual sausage festival, the town has prepared 13 homes to rent.

In a region where a small county villa runs about 5,000 euros a month (and a slice of villa in Florence is 4,000 euros a month), that's a bargain! To bask for a moment: http://www.parionline.it/.