L'Aquila · Abruzzo
ProjectPartner comuneSanto Stefano di Sessanio
A restored medieval village with a pioneering grant history
Photo © Ra Boe / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 de.
Decline, ageing, empty stock, declared shortages
Schools, medical, shops, connectivity, travel
No registered trades here yet. Work here? Join free
Wants people, but you would be renovating the town as well as the house.
Sitting at 1,250m inside the Gran Sasso park, this village drew attention with a 2020 grant-funded repopulation call. That call is closed; no new grant is confirmed. Beautiful, cold, and a place to assess on its own merits rather than a promised payment.
Before you fall in love
- No resident doctor. Nearest hospital is 35km.
- No primary school in the comune — school-age children commute.
- 130km to the nearest airport — flights home are a half-day each way.
What Santo Stefano di Sessanio is short of
Drawn from comune statements, school and service data, and the shape of the local economy.
Business founders, urgency 5 of 5
The closed 2020 grant call targeted new businesses inside the historic centre.
Hospitality, urgency 5 of 5
Albergo diffuso model needs operators.
Artisans, urgency 4 of 5
Wool, lentils and stone crafts are the local identity.
Schemes you may qualify for
Historic village enterprise grantsClosed
Santo Stefano di Sessanio's celebrated scheme — residency income plus up to ~€20,000 business start-up, worth ~€40,000+ combined — was a single call in late 2020 that drew ~20,000 applicants. Nothing is live on the comune's site today, but it is the template other borghi copy, so new calls appear.
Details
Historic village enterprise grantsClosed
Santo Stefano di Sessanio's celebrated scheme — residency income plus up to ~€20,000 business start-up, worth ~€40,000+ combined — was a single call in late 2020 that drew ~20,000 applicants. Nothing is live on the comune's site today, but it is the template other borghi copy, so new calls appear.
Eligibility
- No live call at Santo Stefano di Sessanio as of August 2026
- Comparable bandi open sporadically in other borghi — this is exactly what our town alerts watch for
What you commit to
- Historic terms required trading from the historic centre for a minimum term, with conservation-grade works
Terms checked against the issuing body on 2026-08-18 · official source.
Renovation tax deduction (bonus ristrutturazioni)
50% of qualifying renovation spend on a main home (36% on other properties) deducted from Italian income tax, on up to €96,000 per unit, spread over ten equal annual instalments. From 2027 the rates step down to 36%/30% — work started in 2026 keeps the higher rate on 2026 spend.
Details
Renovation tax deduction (bonus ristrutturazioni)
50% of qualifying renovation spend on a main home (36% on other properties) deducted from Italian income tax, on up to €96,000 per unit, spread over ten equal annual instalments. From 2027 the rates step down to 36%/30% — work started in 2026 keeps the higher rate on 2026 spend.
Eligibility
- Works on a registered Italian property; the 50% rate requires it to be your abitazione principale
- You need Italian tax liability to deduct against — non-residents with no Italian income cannot use it
What you commit to
- Payments by traceable bank transfer with the correct causale
- The deduction arrives as ten equal annual instalments, not a lump sum
- Technical certification required for energy-efficiency measures
Terms checked against the issuing body on 2026-08-18 · official source.
Where Santo Stefano di Sessanio is
1251m up, 75km from the sea, 130km from an airport.
Loading map…
Who can do the work
The trades register is new
No registered trades in Santo Stefano di Sessanio yet.
We only list businesses that have signed up themselves, so an empty register is an unknown, not a no — it means nobody has joined yet, not that there is nobody to do the work.
Are you a builder, electrician or geometra here?
Sei un'impresa, un elettricista o un geometra? Iscriviti, è gratis.
Join the register — free