As breezy real estate pitches go, it certainly had a unique selling point, though in truth it revolved not so much around location or even relocation - but deconsecration. Italy's thousands of churches, chapels and friaries have for centuries provided a suitable ecclesiastical backdrop for a staunchly Catholic society. But in a world where fewer and fewer people worship but more and more want a home of their own, a growing number of holy places are starting to crop up in estate agent windows as places to live, work and even shop. Online property trader Immobiliare. it said yesterday it had 50 holy bargains on its books, ranging from remote chapels set in green valleys to a hot baroque property in downtown Asti complete with new floors. "Many Italians still see church living as a bit scary, but we have a growing list of discerning clients such as artists and architects," said estate agent Maurizio Manuzzi, who is selling a chapel outside Lucca dating from 1050, now "perfectly redeveloped" with four bedrooms and space for a pool at just under 1m (916,000). Predictably, the Vatican is not happy at the development. "Buying a church and turning it into a house, shop, or restaurant completely clashes with the respect and the sensitivity that old places of worship merit, particularly in a country with age old Christian roots like Italy," Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation for Bishops, told La Stampa. But for those of a more commercial rather than spiritual bent, the trend is an opportunity. Immobiliare.it saw it slightly differently, asking prospective buyers: "Are you looking for an original space to live or do you want your new business to launch under the best auspices? Have you ever thought of buying a church?" The site, which is used by 8,000 estate agents to promote properties, lists a 170 square metre property in Florence going for 780,000 "already equipped with a kitchen corner", or a church further south in Salerno in need of restoration going for 90,000. A church near Pisa built in 850 is awaiting planning permission for a garage and is on the books for 1.65m. "It is a niche market which is not feeling the crisis," said agent Manuzzi. The trend is part of a familiar decline in organised religion common to most European countries, Britain among them. The growing acceptance of churches as living spaces comes as Italians show up less often to worship in them. Italians over six years old attending a place of worship once a week dropped by about 1 million between 2001 and 2007, down to roughly one third of the population. Carlo Giordano, head of Immobiliare.it, said most of the properties were originally private churches, typically family chapels on estates. One exception is the baroque jewel in Asti, described by the selling agent as "breathing a hint of rococo". The seller, who declined to be named, said the church had been deconsecrated after a religious order abandoned it in 1950. "My family bought it 18 years ago when it was full of pigeons and water leaks, but now it has new heating and floors." Of 50 properties on Immobiliare.it, 10 are set for residential use, 10 for office space and the rest to be decided by the buyer. "Many of these places would collapse if they are not bought up and restored," said website spokesman Andrea Polo. Buyers looking for a bigger space can also find former entire Capucin friaries in estate agents windows in Italy. With numbers of friars falling from 5,500 in the 1960s to under 2,500 in 2007, the order is vacating properties occupied for centuries, with 33 becoming available between 2003 and 2007. New uses have included flats, offices and hotels. Altered image Selling redundant churches may be a novelty in Italy, but Britain has long experience of repurposing its places of worship. More than 1,700 have been disposed of over the last 40 years, according to the Church Commissioners, out of a total remaining fairly constant at 16,000 as new churches are built and services are held in other premises. Some have been sold for community use as museums, assembly halls and theatres, or to other Christian churches. Nor is the Church of England alone: the Methodists have closed more than 8,000 chapels since the denomination's height around the time of the first world war. Some churches go through a variety of incarnations too: in the East End of London a chapel built for Huguenot worshippers on the corner of Brick Lane in the 18th century became a synagogue as the composition of the local population changed at the end of the 19th century and is now a mosque. Stephen Bates