Villa For Sale: Two Bucks

To help stem an onslaught of undesirable (read: corrupt Mafiosi) developers, Sgarbi has devised a thorough application and screening process. Would-be buyers are invited to send a non-binding letter of intent, in Italian, to the Salemi city council outlining how they might develop the property. At the end of October, Salemi councilors will contact applicants whose ideas fall in line with their vision and invite them to demonstrate financial responsibility and to submit a building plan for approval. Foreign buyers will be required to hire an Italian-speaking power of attorney and are advised to hire a lawyer, preferably local, to help work through the details, not to mention an architect and contractor who are versed in Italian construction techniques.

How the villas, which are in various states of disrepair, are distributed has not been announced other than that each approved buyer will have a choice of properties based on their development plan. Priority would be given to VIP clients and celebrities. (Peter Gabriel, who already owns a villa in Sardinia, has reportedly expressed interest.) Sgarbi, who has gifted several villas, including one to Inter Milan football team owner Massimo Moratti, says the process will be closely guarded. But he vows to turn the hilltop village into both a city of art and an exclusive destination along the lines of Pantelleria, a super-luxe Sicilian island where Giorgio Armani and English football manager Fabio Capello have homes. "They will go to buyers who have both the aesthetic sensitivity and the economic resources to take part in this adventure," he says.

The city might also be making a comeback as a major tourist destination. Ongoing archeological digs under the Arab-Norman castle at the pinnacle of Salemi's old town have recently uncovered what looks like the floor of an ancient mosque dating back to the 9th or 10th century. Such a find, if its date can be confirmed, would be a rare exhibit representing Sicily's abbreviated Arab and Islamic phase. That alone would put Salemi back on the tourist map. But with the impending construction boom, anyone visiting Salemi's archeological treasures will also need to bring a hardhat.

© 2008