This picturesque Sicilian town is giving away houses for free

Image credits: Giuseppe Finocchiaro via Flickr

Despite being the home of Antonello da Messina, Sicily is synonymous with the The Godfather, and I have a theory that about 60% of people visit the island because of the movie.

Now, if you're on the lookout for a new home and you're a fan of the Oscar-winning film and the Sicilian landscape, you should check out the picturesque mountain village of Gangi. Why? Because the quaint small town is giving away for free many of the houses that line its ancient stone streets. They are mostly three-story farmhouses, and many of them have panoramic views of Mount Etna. There is, however, a small catch.

Image credits: patrick_22_b via Flickr

Image credits: bruno.s via Flickr

The residences are generally in pretty rough shape, some abandoned years ago. And, "those who will be assigned the free houses have to bear the expenses for the transfer of ownership and must undertake to present the project of renovation of the property within one year of purchase and complete renovations within three years."

The offer is the last ditch attempt of local government officials to save Gangi from falling into rack and ruin. Starting in the 1890s, the town experienced mass exodus, with much of its population leaving for the United States or South America. It's population has sunk from 16,000 in the 1950s to around 7,000 today.

[h/t: New York Times]

Comments

Hand-Painted Movie Posters by Tony Stella

In the 70s and 80s movie theaters in Manila were usually standalone buildings with nice seats and red curtains. To sell tickets, cinemas needed to advertise their offerings. But they did not have the original posters, or the means to print alternatives. So they made their own, commissioning local artists to hand-paint them. I really miss those hand-painted posters and billboards, which conveyed an artistry that was a form of visual hyperbole. But hand-made objects always have a way of returning. In this digital age, people will always look for things made by hand. I recently stumbled across the work of Tony Stella, whose genuinely cool movie posters have caught the eye of film enthusiasts and art lovers worldwide. He likes to work in watercolor and ink wash but sometimes he will make an oil painting, depending on the film. Tony's very active on social media, and his Tumblr blog contains a massive collection of illustrated movie posters that are often better than the original. ...

Meet Mr. Head, a cleaning robot that makes abstract paintings

Painting might be the last thing you'd expect robots to excel at, but some of them produce top quality results. Take Mr. Head , for example. This machine creates paintings in the style of the American abstract expressionism movement. He used to be a vacuum cleaner, but a Japanese engineer, who goes by the name HYdeJII, turned him into an artist. The build is quite simple. HYdeJII attached four containers filled with acrylic paints into the robot and connected them with tubes. He then programmed the machine to move around a 1,000mm x 1,000mm canvas and squirt different paints. I bet he really likes Pollock and Riopelle. Check out a video of Mr. Head dripping paint down a canvas after the break. [h/t: Japan Trends ]

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

finding cain

Search This Blog