Wouldn’t it be nice to have a castle to call your own? If this sounds like it might interest you, head to Italy. They are giving away 300 castles and historic homes.

As they say, nothing in life is free, so there’s got to be a catch…

Italy has lots of abandoned historic buildings so they came up with a new plan. Curbed writes how they’d like “to transform these sites into “slow travel” tourist magnets outfitted with spas, restaurants, and amenities for cyclists and religious pilgrims.”

The coolest part of the idea is that the buildings will be free, kind of.

Buildings which are available include castles, towers, 19th century homes, train stations, inns and monasteries.

So basically, if you’re interested in turning a historic Italian building into an inn or a B&B, you can apply for one of the buildings. If you’re approved, you’ll get a 9 year lease to renovate and run the property as a business. The deal can be extended for 9 more years and if your plan is really good you might even get a 50 year lease.

In the end, Italy isn’t exactly giving away these properties for free. They are essentially  leasing out properties for free but you’ll have to put up the cash to renovate.

Find out more from Curbed here.

image: google maps