Venice is selling 13 historic palaces and villas in some of the most sought-after locations on the planet -- on the Grand Canal, the Lido and the island of Murano -- in an auction that has been greeted with outrage by locals.
Part of a broader campaign by the Italian government to exploit its huge legacy of state-owned historical buildings, the sale is likely to raise up to £100 million (US$175.4 million).
The real estate on offer includes the Bonfadini-Vivante palace, famous for its neo-classical frescos, and the Foscari Contarini villa, which overlooks the Grand Canal near the Rialto bridge.
There are fears in Venice that the sale would only accelerate the "Disneyfication" of the city, because the villas are most likely to be turned into luxury hotels. "Venice sells its family jewels," screamed the headline in one local paper.
One of the biggest problems facing the city is the exodus of locals in the face of exorbitant property prices and a lack of work.
"This city is not just for tourists," one localsaid.
"It may be very special and it may look beautiful, but it is a place where people live and earn their living in all sorts of ways, and it has to stay that way if it is to stay alive as a community," she said.
Campaigners hope cash from the sale will inject some economic energy into Venice away from tourism -- but are not optimistic. Anna Somers Cocks, who chairs Venice in Peril, said the sale could allow the council to attract high-tech industry and boost housing stock.
"It is a thoroughly good idea [to sell the villas] but sadly they will inevitably be turned into hotels. People naturally look to make a quick return on their money through tourism," she said.
A major barrier to investment has been the increasingly frequent flooding of the city. St Mark's Square floods more than 50 times a year and the Adriatic's rise threatens one day to overwhelm the city.
Financed by central government, the £3 billion "Moses" project consists of 80 retractable steel barriers on the seabed at the inlets to the lagoon.
These will be raised to keep high tides and storm surges at bay. An estimated £622 million has already been spent on the project, which is due to be completed in 2010. But environmentalists have long criticized the scheme, arguing that it could create a closed system of stagnant water.
"All the resources for Venice have gone to Moses, when the problems facing the city are much wider," said Luigi Torvetti, head of the consortium charged with Venice's daily upkeep.
"The problems of sewers are just as important as high tides," he said.
The left-wing council dismisses the criticism, saying the city needs the cash to stay solvent. It claims the villas and palaces, all of which currently serve as municipal offices, are impractical.
"We have one villa on the Lido that is a police station," one official said. "That's OTT, even by Italian standards."
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