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Meet the Argentinian doctors lured by Sicily’s rural idyll

Meet the Argentinian doctors lured by Sicily's rural idyll

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(CNN) — When dozens of towns across Italy started selling crumbling buildings for the cost of an espresso, people from all over the world were prompted to grab a slice of the action — and for many different reasons.

It’s not always about chasing the idyllic dream of living La Dolce Vita in a rural, sleepy village where time stands still.

For some, it’s part of a career change: a radical professional upgrade that comes with a more laid-back lifestyle.

The sale of one-euro ($1) and cheap buildings in the Sicilian town of Mussomeli is luring Argentinian doctors with Italian roots, who plan to settle in and give a new twist to their lives.

“Due to a shortage of doctors at the village hospital a partnership has been signed between the university of Rosario in Argentina and our town hall to fill in the vacancies, and soon we will have new Argentinian doctors who speak fluent Italian,” Mussomeli mayor Giuseppe Catania tells CNN.

The partnership started off as a promotional tool to lure foreign investment for Mussomeli’s urban regeneration, says Catania, and now it’s doing more than just addressing a healthcare emergency.

“These new doctors are also interested in contributing to the revitalization projects underway to breathe new life into our depopulating village, including purchasing and restyling abandoned homes in the historical center, which has been our greatest success.”

In recent years Mussomeli has sold over 300 cheap properties, starting at €5,000, and 150 one-euro homes, luring foreign professionals and smart workers. Many new buyers come from Argentina, where Mussomeli families migrated in the 1900s.

‘Taking it easy and slowing down’

A number of Italian-Argentinian doctors recently visited Mussomeli to meet with authorities, school children and future colleagues — and to get a sense of the town’s vibe.

For Rosario-based ER surgeon Leonardo Roldan, moving to Sicily has a two-fold goal.

“I’m still quite young, 49, so it’s more than just a professional shift in my career: It’s the choice of leading a different life, the polar opposite from the one I live in Argentina, and to take my family with me.”

Roldan, who previously lived in northern Italy, says…

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