• The exterior of the picturesque three-storey traditional home is located in Sambuca, which was made famous thanks to its '1 Euro House' campaign. All photos: Airbnb
    The exterior of the picturesque three-storey traditional home is located in Sambuca, which was made famous thanks to its '1 Euro House' campaign. All photos: Airbnb
  • The new kitchen of the heritage home in Sicily.
    The new kitchen of the heritage home in Sicily.
  • The new living room.
    The new living room.
  • One of the rooms before restoration.
    One of the rooms before restoration.
  • Airbnb is looking for someone to manage the property for a year and live rent-free.
    Airbnb is looking for someone to manage the property for a year and live rent-free.
  • The chosen person will also earn money from the Airbnb rentals.
    The chosen person will also earn money from the Airbnb rentals.

Airbnb wants someone to live rent-free in a heritage home in Sicily


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

Airbnb is looking for someone to live rent-free and manage a restored heritage home in Sicily for a year.

"With a new-found flexibility to live and work remotely, one person will be given the opportunity to relocate to Sicily with their family, partner or friend and move into this uniquely restored house," the property-sharing giant said.

The three-storey house is located in Sambuca, a commune that made headlines in 2019 for its campaign to sell dilapidated homes for €1.

The homes were put on sale for a throwaway price in the hope of rejuvenating the hilltop town and attracting more people to the area. A number of native residents abandoned the town in favour of larger Italian cities, but officials hoped that will change with the new scheme.

Airbnb responded to the call, teaming up with Italian architecture firm Studio Didea to rehabilitate one of the town’s homes.

Renovation merged modern and classic design and reflects Sicily’s architecture. Materials and paints were chosen keeping in mind the local landscape.

The picturesque three-storey traditional home is located in Sambuca, which was made famous thanks to its 'one Euro house' campaign. Photo: Airbnb
The picturesque three-storey traditional home is located in Sambuca, which was made famous thanks to its 'one Euro house' campaign. Photo: Airbnb

The house now features a primary bedroom fitted with a king-sized bed and a bathroom, a spacious living room, a kitchen, workspace, mezzanine bedroom, as well as an upper floor that includes a living area with a queen-sized sofa bed.

Whoever is chosen to live in the house will get their pick of which bedroom in the house to stay in. They will also be tasked with listing the second bedroom on Airbnb.

So what kind of candidate is the company looking for?

According to Airbnb, the ideal applicant "should be committed to hosting and contributing to village life".

"The beauty of this campaign is that it gives a second chance not just to an abandoned heritage home in the heart of our village – it's also a second chance to the person who moves into it," Leonardo Ciaccio, mayor of Sambuca said.

"We see it as a designer makeover for the house and the host. We're looking for someone who wants to live with the local population and participate in all the important moments of the community, from the grape harvest to olive picking and we can't wait to welcome whoever gets selected.”

The residence initiative will start on June 30 and last for a year. Whoever is chosen for the spot will be able to keep all earnings from hosting on Airbnb. So they not only get to live rent-free in a gorgeous heritage home, but get paid doing it.

More details and an application form is at airbnb.com/1eurohouse.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

What is a calorie?

A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.

One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.

A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.

Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.

Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram. 

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

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Updated: January 23, 2022, 4:07 PM