In March 2024, Bianca Fontana traveled from Australia to Sardinia for what she thought would be a short three-week visit. That trip ended with a life-changing decision: she bought a house in a depopulated village and began the paperwork to relocate halfway across the world. Fontana’s story sits at the intersection of a broader crisis in Sardinia’s rural interior and a bold policy push aimed at reversing decades of decline. The island’s population stands at about 1.57 million, down from 1.64 million three decades ago, with most people still concentrated on coastal cities. In the countryside, empty houses are a common sight, and rural towns have started offering incentives to attract new residents, including housing schemes in towns like Ollolai and Nulvi that encourage mainland and foreign buyers with prices as low as a symbolic euro for homes that need work. The purpose behind these measures is clear: stop the demographic bleed, stimulate local economies, and create long-term stability for communities that have watched young people leave in search of opportunities elsewhere.
