June 13, 2025, 8:46 am | Read time: 2 minutes
An Italian community is offering financial incentives to attract new families and young workers. TRAVELBOOK explains Varese’s program.
“Come and live in Varese” (Original: “Vieni a Vivere a Varese”) – with this slogan, the municipality in Lombardy aims to convince young people under 40 to move permanently to Varese, Italy, and work there. Those who do will receive a bonus of 6,000 euros.
Varese is located about 60 kilometers northwest of Milan and near Lake Maggiore. Currently, around 880,000 people live in the province, with nearly 79,000 residing in the city of the same name.
6,000 Euros Against Depopulation
The background of the unusual program by the Varese Chamber of Commerce is a shortage of skilled workers and depopulation in the area, similar to many other parts of Italy.
After several towns and villages in recent years tried to make the areas more attractive and gain new residents with 1-euro houses, more provinces are now enticing people with financial incentives (TRAVELBOOK reported). Varese is doing the same: Young people, workers, and families can receive vouchers worth 2,000 euros per year for three years. The condition: They must move their residence to Varese and sign a new employment contract with a local company. The “vouchers can be redeemed for commercial goods and services as well as local craft activities,” according to a statement about the program from early June. The measure is just one part of a package aimed at increasing the area’s attractiveness by the Chamber of Commerce.
A similar initiative, albeit with cash gifts of 100,000 euros, was recently launched by the province of Trentino, and Tuscany has also offered large sums for relocation.
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Does the Program Work?
In recent years, we’ve repeatedly heard (and reported) about various attempts in different parts of Italy to counteract emigration and attract new residents. But do these measures work? Does the program in Varese work?
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The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mauro Vitiello, says: “We are aware that this measure alone cannot solve the problems.” However, the Chamber of Commerce is convinced “that it can start a positive cycle,” encouraging the region “to do its best and create the conditions for further socioeconomic growth in a forward-looking region.”