- A region in central Italy is offering couples money towards their wedding if they marry in the area.
- Lazio, which includes Rome, is offering couples 2,000 euros, around $2,230, for wedding services.
- The 10 million euro fund aims to revitalize local businesses that lost customers due to COVID-19.
A region in central Italy says it will offer couples a 2,000 euro, or around $2,230, cash reward to spend on their weddings if they get married in the area.
Lazio is the second most populated region of Italy and includes the country's capital, Rome, according to the official tourism board.
A statement on the region's official website outlining its new wedding fund, titled "Nel Lazio con amore," or "From Lazio with Love," says that it began to accept applications on Monday. It will continue to welcome them until January 31, 2023, or until the fund runs out.
It says locals and tourists alike are welcome to apply for a portion of the 10 million euro fund, or around $11.1 million, on the conditions that they "marry or civilly unite in Lazio" between January 1 and December 31, 2022, and they "purchase services or products related to the event from Lazio companies."
Lazio's cash fund aims to revitalize wedding tourism and address the economic crisis by supporting local businesses that lost customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the statement.
The fund can be used to redeem a long list of wedding services including wedding planners, attire and rings, venues, catering, floral arrangements, photographers, and up to 700 euros, or around $780, on a honeymoon, it added. The statement also says that only one member of a couple can apply for the fund, and each couple can request reimbursement of up to five expense documents through the Lazio region's website.
The Guardian reported that only 9,000 couples have gotten married in Lazio since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, compared with more than 15,000 in 2019. Nicola Zingaretti, the president of Lazio, told the publication that the wedding sector, in particular, has "suffered badly from the economic crisis."
He added that they put "significant investment in place also with an eye on the tourism sector, and with the awareness and pride of being able to boast about every part of our region."
Zingaretti said that Lazio is a great place to get married because it's home to a number of heritage landmarks. In Rome, these sites include the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and the Trevi Fountain, which have historically been favored for wedding photographs, as outlined by wedding-planning hub Top Wedding Sites.
Passaggi, a wedding and life events company in Italy, noted on its website that Lazio also has a lot to offer outside of Rome, including several countryside villas that are fit to host a marriage ceremony.
Representatives for Lazio's regional government did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.