An apartment thought to be the smallest in the world is on sale in Rome for 鈧50,000 [$68,868 or 拢43,000] and if you are interested in it, you will need to hurry as the estate agent handling the sale has been inundated with enquiries.
The apartment, a former porter鈥檚 lodge, has an area of five square metres. There is just room for a single bed and a screen encloses a WC, sink and tiny shower. There is a window, but you have to climb on the bed to open it and when you do, the view, of a drain, is hardly inspiring.
However, the apartment is in a prestigious location, tucked into a building in Piazza Sant鈥橧gnazio near the Pantheon, Piazza Venezia and the via del Plebescito. We will leave you to make your own judgements about the neighbours, one of whom is Silvio Berlusconi, whose rented private residence is nearby.
One Italian newspaper has described the apartment as being 鈥渢he size of a confessional鈥 whilst another sneers that people in Rome are now living like mice. Romans are eager to learn whether the apartment will be featured in the next edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest in the world.
Would you buy this apartment?