These Italian Alpine villages will pay your rent for a month to see if you’ll stay

To address population decline in rural European villages, three small towns in the Italian Alps have created a residency program. The communities of Ingria, Ronco Canavese and Valprato Soana in Piedmont’s Soana Valley have launched VIHTA, a project inviting professionals, families, academics and university students to spend time in the mountains.

The project offers free accommodation and a coworking space for two to four weeks between September 20 and October 18, 2026. Unlike many similar projects, the goal isn’t only to attract tourists to the valley, but to persuade participants to think about moving there permanently. According to the project description posted on the website of Italia che cambia, the word VIHTA comes from the Franco-Provençal dialect used in the region, meaning “stay.”

The three villages sit near Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy’s first national park, which spans the Alps across Piedmont and the Aosta Valley. Though the scenery draws hikers, nature lovers and tourists from across Europe, several mountain communities in the area have faced population decline as young people migrate to cities for education, employment and services. According to Gran Paradiso National Park, roughly 8,300 people live in the 13 municipalities surrounding the park, but only about 300 live inside the park area itself.

Participants in VIHTA are asked to take part in community activities and meet local residents, offering a trial period to experience both the advantages and drawbacks of mountain life rather than asking people to relocate immediately from the city.