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Special Feature Article
Finding Your Nonno’s Farm
The ghost town of San Basile seemed an unlikely candidate for renewal and repopulation until a young
mayor came up with just the plan: an online initiative to sell abandoned real estate at extremely low prices.
The program, called A Home in San Basile, helped repopulate this town on the slopes of Mount Pollino in
the province of Cosenza (Calabria).
A few years ago, Mayor Vincenzo Tamburi put up for sale about 150 abandoned homes and parcels of
land. Prices ranged from as little as 5,000 euros each (about $6,000 at the time) to a maximum of 60,000
euros (about $70,000). San Basile became an instant success, drawing the interest of buyers from all over the
world.
Today, more Italian mayors are following suit — even selling properties for as little as 1 euro (with some
strings attached).
We have to remember that San Basile is not an exception; many small towns in Italy have suffered tremendously
after past migrations. When our ancestors left their hometowns, many of them also left their
property uninhabited.
“When my grandfather was a young man he, like many others, went to America leaving behind his beloved
Italia; his parents, brothers and sisters who continued to manage the farm in those difficult times surviving
only after long hours of sweat and toil and the few dollars set aside regularly in America and then
sent back to Italy. I never really knew what happened to the land and that house. Later on I found that after
my great-grandparents passed on, my grandfather’s brothers and sisters continued to work the farm,” says
Anthony Alioto of Italian Law.
A common misperception holds that the Italian government confiscated unclaimed property. The reality
is that many properties remain unclaimed. In fact, in many cases the children of emigrants living outside of
Italy may still claim it according to Italian Succession Law.
Families of a decedent should file succession documents after the death of any individual (living anywhere
in the world) holding title to the Italian real estate property. The danger in failing to do so, especially
when a plot of land is left behind, lays in an ancient law called “usucapione” (from the Latin usucapio,
meaning acquisition) which allows people to acquire property and/or land by adverse possession.
For example, usucapione allows someone to become entitled to a property by cultivating abandoned
land, harvesting crops or growing olive trees, and paying very low agricultural property taxes. This process
gets a bit more complicated and longer for abandoned homes since residential property taxes are much
higher.
About a year ago, we conducted an onsite family research project in the town of Fontanarosa (located in
the province of Avellino). After locating the living relatives, we learned that our client had rights to a property
that was still in her grandfather’s name after many decades. She even took her family onsite last summer
to meet the living relatives and visit the vacant property. A few years back, a distant relative had taken
possession of the house but failure to pay property taxes defeated the purpose of “usucapione”. Thus, the
property became vacant again, so our customer could decide what to do with it.
There are thousands of parcels of abandoned land and many structures that should have transferred to
successive generations but have not. The original owners, deceased many decades ago, are still found on the
titles today.
Whether you are interested in repossession or not, it can be very interesting to discover that your family
still owns abandoned property. To research the matter, only the following data is needed:
1. Italian name (if female, maiden) of presumed owner, even if deceased
2. Exact town of birth in Italy (mandatory)
3. Father of this person (optional, but very useful)
4. Birth year of the above. (NOTE: no birth years before 1880)
If you are planning to travel to your town of origin, our researchers will take you to the places where
your ancestors lived and where you can meet your living relatives. Who knows, you may even discover that
you still have rights to your nonno’s property!
(Courtesy of My Italian Family. Call us FREE at 1-888-472-0171 to take advantage of the
Heritage Research Offers just for UNICO Members or visit our website at www.myitalianfamily.com.
Alternatively you can write to My Italian Family LLC, 6542A Lower York Road #204,
New Hope, PA 18938 or e-mail at ask@myitalianfamily.com)
UNICO National September 2015 25