Now the first city has joined the club.

Taranto, a port on the coast of Puglia in the heel of Italy, has seen its population dwindle in recent years, and city officials want to reverse its fortunes.

As with previous offers, buyers must commit to renovating the properties, a process likely to cost thousands more dollars.

The hope is to save dilapidated buildings and build up the population. There are currently 15 buildings ready to be snapped up — with the listings due to go live in a couple of weeks. There’s the potential for more buildings to be put on the market.

The appeal of Taranto

The coastal city of Taranto, Italy, home to the impressive Castello Aragonese, pictures, is offering up homes for a little over $1

Paolo Manzo/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The southern Italian region of Puglia is celebrated for its culinary delights, stone architecture and dramatic coastal towns, but the area is much poorer than tourist magnet Tuscany.

Taranto is known for its large steelworks, which has come under scrutiny due to polluting emissions and a controversial fight over the plant’s future…