@snow
Not on that region, I think. I imagine you might find some criminal gangs in Sicily and Calabria, possibly, or near Naples.
The reporter does a good job of mentioning it ain't the best place to be living at during the Winter (dark, windy, humid and probably rainy).
I have read other articles talking about similar promotions in Spain (land being sold at 1 Euro per square meter for home construction). There's a lot of small villages that lost their younger people, moved to larger cities for employment, and there's many times properties that end up abandoned and in disrepair when the older owners pass away.