The Italian government is to sell scores of
historic properties to help it tackle its huge
budget deficit.
A haunted fortress, a cardinal’s palace and
an island in the Venetian lagoon are among
50 sites for sale.
The move recalls 2012, when Greece was
forced to sell off some its beautiful islands
to foreign buyers, to chip away at its
enormous debts.
The Italian government hope that the
nation’s treasures will be bought by private
businesses and converted into hotels,
restaurants and museums, bringing much
needed employment and international
investment.
Minister for the economy Fabrizio
Saccomanni aims to make £425million from
the sell-off.
Historic: Orsini Odescalchi castle in the
lakeside town of Bracciano, 27 miles
from Rome, is up for sale
It was approved as part of an emergency
decree aimed at keeping Italy’s 2013 budget
deficit within 3 per cent to avoid corrective
action by Brussels.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Enrico Letta is
planning a further £1billion of austerity
measures.
Italian property expert Rupert Fawcett said
the scheme made ‘logical business sense’.
The idea was first mooted last year by
Mario Monti, the technocrat who took over
as Prime Minister in December 2011, when
Silvio Berlusconi took public debt to
unsustainable levels.
The ‘Kill Public Debt’ plan originally listed
350 properties but officials now deem that
some assets, such as military airbases, are
poorly suited for the commercial market.
The properties are to be marketed through
a state-run fund who will advance the
money to the Treasury, selling off the
assets as buyers are found, the Italian
newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
The properties include Orsini Castle, which
sits above its own feudal village near
Viterbo, about 60miles from Rome.
The medieval fort was built for Pope
Nicholas III in the 1270s and has a Euro 15
million price tag. Said to be haunted, it was
used as a prison from the mid-19th century
to 1989 and has since been an art gallery.
In Venice the properties on offer include
the Island of San Giacomo in Palude, north-
east of Murano.
The island was inhabited by monks and
friars from the 11th century before it
became a military base in the 1800s.
Since it was abandoned in 1961, it has
fallen into ruin but could appeal to
international investors as a luxury resort.
Other national treasures to go under the
hammer include the 18th century palace,
Villa Mirabello.
The frescoed villa, set in parkland near
Monza, close to Milan, was built in the 18th
century by Cardinal Durini, the Inquisitor of
Malta.
Property expert Rupert Fawcett head of
Knight Frank Italy said the scheme made
‘logical business sense’.
Tackling deficit: Prime Minister Enrico
Letta will follow the sale with £1billion
of austerity measures next year
He said: ‘The reality is that any government
in Europe is looking to raise funds where
they can. The cost of running these
properties can be huge and the sheer
upkeep of them can be unmanageable.
‘If properties can be bought by private
investors, restored to their former glory it’s
good for everyone. It benefits local
communities and puts some money in the
state coffers.’
Head of the Italian employers federation
Confindustria, Giorgio Squinzi, said to cut
the deficit Italy’s needed ‘drastic action’.
‘Continuing with the status quo our
country will remain, at zero or low growth.’
It is not the first time Italy has sold off
assets. Last year a succession of
lighthouses on the island of Sardinia were
sold off to private businesses and
converted into hotels, galleries, and
museums.
The island’s autonomous government
could no longer afford the cost of
maintaining and restoring them.
Greece's sale last year of 70,000 lots
included beaches, ski resorts and islands.
historic properties to help it tackle its huge
budget deficit.
A haunted fortress, a cardinal’s palace and
an island in the Venetian lagoon are among
50 sites for sale.
The move recalls 2012, when Greece was
forced to sell off some its beautiful islands
to foreign buyers, to chip away at its
enormous debts.
The Italian government hope that the
nation’s treasures will be bought by private
businesses and converted into hotels,
restaurants and museums, bringing much
needed employment and international
investment.
Minister for the economy Fabrizio
Saccomanni aims to make £425million from
the sell-off.
Historic: Orsini Odescalchi castle in the
lakeside town of Bracciano, 27 miles
from Rome, is up for sale
It was approved as part of an emergency
decree aimed at keeping Italy’s 2013 budget
deficit within 3 per cent to avoid corrective
action by Brussels.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Enrico Letta is
planning a further £1billion of austerity
measures.
Italian property expert Rupert Fawcett said
the scheme made ‘logical business sense’.
The idea was first mooted last year by
Mario Monti, the technocrat who took over
as Prime Minister in December 2011, when
Silvio Berlusconi took public debt to
unsustainable levels.
The ‘Kill Public Debt’ plan originally listed
350 properties but officials now deem that
some assets, such as military airbases, are
poorly suited for the commercial market.
The properties are to be marketed through
a state-run fund who will advance the
money to the Treasury, selling off the
assets as buyers are found, the Italian
newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
The properties include Orsini Castle, which
sits above its own feudal village near
Viterbo, about 60miles from Rome.
The medieval fort was built for Pope
Nicholas III in the 1270s and has a Euro 15
million price tag. Said to be haunted, it was
used as a prison from the mid-19th century
to 1989 and has since been an art gallery.
In Venice the properties on offer include
the Island of San Giacomo in Palude, north-
east of Murano.
The island was inhabited by monks and
friars from the 11th century before it
became a military base in the 1800s.
Since it was abandoned in 1961, it has
fallen into ruin but could appeal to
international investors as a luxury resort.
Other national treasures to go under the
hammer include the 18th century palace,
Villa Mirabello.
The frescoed villa, set in parkland near
Monza, close to Milan, was built in the 18th
century by Cardinal Durini, the Inquisitor of
Malta.
Property expert Rupert Fawcett head of
Knight Frank Italy said the scheme made
‘logical business sense’.
Tackling deficit: Prime Minister Enrico
Letta will follow the sale with £1billion
of austerity measures next year
He said: ‘The reality is that any government
in Europe is looking to raise funds where
they can. The cost of running these
properties can be huge and the sheer
upkeep of them can be unmanageable.
‘If properties can be bought by private
investors, restored to their former glory it’s
good for everyone. It benefits local
communities and puts some money in the
state coffers.’
Head of the Italian employers federation
Confindustria, Giorgio Squinzi, said to cut
the deficit Italy’s needed ‘drastic action’.
‘Continuing with the status quo our
country will remain, at zero or low growth.’
It is not the first time Italy has sold off
assets. Last year a succession of
lighthouses on the island of Sardinia were
sold off to private businesses and
converted into hotels, galleries, and
museums.
The island’s autonomous government
could no longer afford the cost of
maintaining and restoring them.
Greece's sale last year of 70,000 lots
included beaches, ski resorts and islands.
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