Baroque of Modica for sale

After Salemi, another Sicilian town may sell publicly owned properties. The town council in Modica, south-eastern Sicily, will soon evaluate a proposal by mayor Antonello Buscema and his team to sell twenty council-owned properties.
A UNESCO world-heritage site, Modica is a town of extraordinary architectural appeal-winding streets, cream-coloured palazzos, and grand churches in Sicilian Baroque style climb up a castle-topped mountain. It has balmy Mediterranean weather, a tradition of making rough-textured chocolate which sugar crystals-and a balance deficit which totals a staggering 21 million euros.
In an attempt to make it good, or at least reduce it, the mayor and the council’s executive committee have decided to sell twenty publicly owned buildings. Their decision will now be submitted to the town council for discussion.
The properties in the council committee’s ‘for sale’ list are varied and, some at least, interesting. There is a deconsacrated church, Santo Spirito; a former monastery; a palazzo on Modica’s main street, Corso Umberto, and another in Modica Alta, the upper part of town; as well as former schools, flats, land plots and even a car park.
If the council approves the committee’s measure, the twenty properties will likely be auctioned off and, unlike Salemi, they are not going to be given away for a pittance. Even though it is very early days and the sale has yet to be given the go ahead, interest among potential buyers is already high, particularly for some of the biggest or more unusual buildings, suggesting that competition will be fierce.