Hong Kong, June 25 -- Fancy a trip to the Italian region of Molise? A village with a population of only 500 people is offering families a chance to stay for free in an Italian village amid the unspoiled mountainous region bordering on the Adriatic. In all, 40 families will have the chance to enjoy a week of accommodation without charge between July 4 and October 3, 2020.

Badly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Italy is working hard to rebuild its tourist industry, which is essential to its economic recovery. But in the small region of Molise, wedged between Puglia and Abruzzo, local authorities are having to start from scratch in an area that has never really been on the map for the international travellers, who are so numerous elsewhere ...