Castropignano: the Italian village selling $1 houses

(CNN) — You wait a while for a house that’s practically given away to you, and then three come along at once.

Yes, Italy’s €1 homes are back — and this time, what’s up for grabs is a collection of houses in the southern region of Molise.

Castropignano — a village topped by a ruined medieval castle, 140 miles southeast of Rome — is the latest community to offer up its abandoned buildings to newcomers.

However, unlike most of the schemes, which auction off dilapidated buildings from €1, or $1.20, Castropignano is doing things differently.

There are roughly 100 abandoned buildings here, but rather than sell to the highest bidder, mayor Nicola Scapillati wants to match interested parties with the right house for them.

“The scheme here works a bit differently,” he says.

“I’m moving along two parallel paths, reaching out both to potential buyers and old owners at the same time, step…