News

20 July 2009

The modicasa blog is about to be up and running so news will now appear on the blog and not here - the address is http://www.blog.modicasa.com  See you there!

There will also be a blog for the barocco.biz site at http://blog.barocco.biz  which will have all the cultural news for the val di noto and things that visitors may want to know.

17 July 2009

there’s to be a petition to have the airport at comiso opened as part of the Governments ‘lets get out of the crisis’ plan

Click here to read an article on ‘heavenly modica’ from the FT - June 2009 l

1 July 2009

The first stretch of the Catania Lentini Siracusa new road opens at the end of the month. cutting journey times from the airport to Siracusa and Modica. 

13 June 2009

The new Marina at Marina di Ragusa will open officially in early July -

The Catania - Siracusa new road is ahead of schedule and should open by the end of the year.

21 May 2009

Windjet - www.w1.volawindjet.it is starting low cost flights from Catania to Luton and Gatwick  this summer.

12 April 2009

The works on the castle at Modica are nearing completion.  it will be the site of the new civic museum, and along with that, there will be a new library, art gallery and the rehoused museum of folklore should all open over the next year or so.  The old fruit and veg market will become the site of a new school, while the existing site in Via Vittio veneto will become shops. 

The G8 summit in Ortigia at the end of the month (22 April) is meaning that Ortigia will be blindato for the weekend. The protestors are threatening the comune that they cannot be held responsible for damage ifthe comune wont allow them to protest in the city.

5 April 2009

The new piano casa will allow the increase of cubatura of up to 20%, and demolition and reconstruction using enery saving methods of up to 35%. 

PIANO CASA - The details and simplifications:

A DIA for extraordinary maintenance will not longer be requested under the new decree, nor for change of destination, for paving of external areas, including parking, and for a series of other works which will become 'liberi'.  It is one of the simplifications contained in the draft of the Piano Casa which should get approval from the Regions .  The text will be discussed before Easter.

The new laws have the objective to accompany Regional laws and be adopted within 90 days, and therefore to assist the 20% increase promised by the decree on cubic metrage, and the plans for demolition and reconstruction.  The text contains various simplifications, and will be accompanied by a law with more structural measures, starting with the cancellation of the permission to build.

For the 'ampliamento di cubatura' (the 20% more)  all that will be needed will be a 'denuncia di inizio attività'  the DIA - which will also include underground works to the sides of the property, but not on the access side - with the limit of an increase of 20% of the overall volume.

Actually the DIA is necessary also for extraordinary maintenance, while 'edlizia libera' will include removal of barriere architettoniche, and underground 'research'.  Also all works inside the property which do not affect the overall cubatura will become un-notifiable including, movement of earth for agriculture, temporary open deposits for goods and materials, emergency works, change of destination without building works, paving of outside areas, installation of solar panels and tanks for LPG.  the only formality requested will be a communication to send to the Comune within 30 days of the finishing of the works ' to show the legitimacy and effect of the same'

A larger impact will be the new laws on authorisation 'paesaggistiche'.  . Once a destination has been released the Sovrintendenze will not be able to annul it, only express their opinion.  

4 April 2009

Modica is slowly pulling itself out of the mire thanks to the work of its new mayor.  Within the year the renovations of various public buildings will be complete and Modica will have a new library, art gallery, civic museum, museum of folklore etc. 

FIMAA has accepted the registration of a non registered estate agent, meaning that we can no longer recommend FIMAA as being a mark of control on your choice of estate agent.  FIAIP still requires nomination and seconding by other FIAIP agents as part of the accreditation process, and we are proud to be associates of FIAIP. 

3 April 2009

Some Maltese estate agents are saying that under European law they have the right to sell property in Sicily.  This is not so.  We have checked with FIAIP, the CCIAA and other organisations who tell us that estate agents area  registered profession in Italy, and to practise anywhere on Italian soil you must be qualified and registered in Italy.  Using a Maltese agency cannot bring the legal checks and balances that the Italian system provides as there is no system of checks on Maltese agents.  Anyone can open up shop as an estate agent in Malta, as in Britain.

The INFIORATA at Noto will have the theme of Noto - city of the baroque.  It will be on the thrid weekend of May.

14 February 2009

Siracusa is hosting the G8 Ambiente conference at the end of April and the city will be virtually closed for the duration. April 22-24.   Work to make the city beautiful for the top brass starts at the end of February adn there will be severe disruption to traffic on the island.

Modica will no longer host Eurochocolate, but is starting its own initiative ChocoBarocco which will take place from 30 April to 3 May 2009. 

We are at the Malta Property Expo from 26 Feb to 2 March and will not be available to show properties during that period.   Likewise - the week of 25 March we are at La Dolce Vita in London and although the office will be open that week, we will not be open for property viewings.  

20 January 2009

We are pleased to say we have a new member of staff.  Gisella will be in the office every morning from 9am till 1 pm, and speaks English, German, Spanish and Italian. 

23 December 2008

Italian property prices likely to hold up

Published on the 19-12-2008 Italy magazine

Words by Carla Passino

The European Union may be rapping the Italian government’s knuckles for not doing enough to prevent a recession, but at least one of the country’s economic engines is faring better than the rest of the world—the property market.

According to the latest report by economic intelligence company NOMISMA, Italian housing prices are weathering the worldwide credit storm better than most developed economies. Although the Italian property market took a turn for the worse following September’s stock market and banking crisis, prices remained essentially stable, against recorded drops of 14.6% in the UK, 16.6% in the US and 5% to 10% across the rest of continental Europe.

Between July and October 2008, Italian property demand declined as a result of both a large decrease in interest from big market players and a more prudent approach fom individual buyers.

Some professional investors are suffering from reduced access to credit. Others—those with cash in hand—have become pickier and are looking for quality properties with a yield of 6% to 7%. However, sellers are only willing to sell prime properties at a price that ensures a maximum 6% yield. And since many of these vendors do not need to sell, this expectation gap, together with the credit crunch, has caused a 50% decrease in this kind of large scale investment transaction.

At the same time, families and individual buyers have less confidence in the market and are therefore more cautious. Some are also affected by the credit crunch but to a lesser degree than many other European countries—Italians are traditionally prone to save. The end result is a 14% drop in residential sales volumes, which could worsen to 20% by year’s end (due to the marked drop in confidence after September’s huge financial shake-up).

Sales volumes went down both in big cities and in the provinces, more in the North of Italy than in the South, while sale times and discounts over the asking price both increased, reaching 5.8 months and 12.5% respectively (less for new builds). However, warns NOMISMA, the Italian market is poised to split into two tiers—one for quality homes, for which supply is smaller and demand more solid; and another for lower standard housing, for which supply is large and demand is low.

That said, prices continue to hold up at nearly every level. There has been an average decrease of 1.1% in metropolitan areas in the second half of 2008. It is the first drop in prices since 1997 but, states the NOMISMA report, “these drops are far more contained, in both quantity and value, than what is happening in the big operator market, putting into perspective the alarmism that has been fuelled from many quarters.�

The Italian property market is proving more robust that the financial one. “Both average prices and transaction levels show good solidity, despite the flood of bad news on the economy,� states NOMISMA.

More importantly, the low level of personal debt among Italian families, coupled with a historic trend that shows how Italian property values have always held up, even at time of crisis, leads NOMISMA to believe that Italy’s housing prices will continue to remain stable in the future: “Given the current conjuncture, we don’t foresee significant reduction in property prices if not at the lowest levels recorded across the rest of Europe—i.e. a maximum of 5%.�

10 December 2008

BBC4 is having a Sicilian evening on Saturdsay 13 Dec with Carluccio and the Leopard at 8pm and an episode of Montalbano at 10pm.

Christmas events in the Val di Noto are muted this year.  What there is will be posted on the barocco.biz site.

26 November 2008

The film ‘ Anni Difficili’ is being shown in Modica from 4 December.  Filmed in 1948 in Modica, the newly restored version which was first shown at the Turin Film festival now comes to its home city. 

2 November 2008

‘Montalbano’ the hugely successful Italian ‘Morse’ has finally been bought by the BBC, and will be aired on BBC3 next year with subtitles.   Also sold in Germany, South America and France, the series is regarded as the best of italian television - high production values, good scripts and beautiful scenery.  It has been responsible for the increase in Italian tourism to this corner of Sicily.  Montalbano is filmed in Ragusa, Modica and Scicli as well as Punta Secca, and Sampieri - Undoubtedly it will make the area more popular with tourists coming from abroad.

25 October 2008

The largest solar farm has opened in Santa Croce producing 999KW of electricy from 4 hectares of photo voltaic panels.

The new road from Noto to Rosolini is now open - meaning that Catania to Rosolini will now take less than one hour, and bringing Modica into the 90 minute range from Catania airport.

A new golf course near Ispica with associated hotel etc has been given the go-ahead and work is to start immediately.  The course near Santa Croce is nearing completion, giving Ragusa province 2 18 hole courses.

12 October 2008

Ragusa has thrown out the planning applications for wind farms in the region.  The company has said it will appeal to Palermo.

Photo-voltaic farms are getting the go-ahead - at least the first 2.  Each application will be judged on its merits and the environmental impact.

3 october 2008

The comune of Modica is thinking of selling off some of its important buildings to help pay off a debt of over 50 million euros.  

Ryanair still has to confirm if it will be flying into Comiso from the spring.

Panther oil has won a ruling that will help it in its fight to drill for oil and gas in the west of the province of Ragusa near Comiso and Vittoria.

14 June 2008

Festival of Saint peter in Modica from 23 June - it culminates with a procession and fireworks on 29th

2 June 2008

The TAR has passed a judgement which could mean the end of the agevolazione that Sicily enjoys.  Until 2011 you pay only 168 euros ofr land purchase instead of the 18% tax that is paid elsewhere in Italy.  Some unscrupulous ‘agents’ chareg their clients this 18% and pocket the difference.   The ruling of the TAR has 3 possible outcomes.  1 - nothing 2 - the agevolazione will stop before 2011 and 3 - it will stop and all the people who have benefitted will have to pay back the difference.  This is unlikely given the hundreds of thousands of acts which have been processed with this incentive

25 May 2008

The new government is restarting the project for the new bridge across the Staits of Messina.  Work is due start before 2010.  There is no date for the opening!

400 candidates are standing in the local elections for the 30 council places available at the comune of Modica.  This is slightly down on last year when the 630 candidates outnumbered the number of cndidates for the whole of Rome!

A new web site has opened offering houses for sale in the south east of Sicily.  Not only is the operator not an estate agent,  the UK based limited company they claim to be does not exist at Companies House.  Any legally operating agent MUST display a name, address and VAT number on the site.  A faceless website is not to be trusted.

17 May 2008

The Infiorata opened today, the theme being Popart - Warhol to Bacon.  No warhol - and no can of soup which was disappointing, but lots of homage to lichtenstein and at least 2 Marilyns.  Its on until tomorrow night.

16 May 2008

This year the Madonna of the Milizia festival will take place in Scicli on the 31 May.  Unusual as having the only horseborne, sword wielding Madonna in Italy, it re-enacts the battle between the locals and the Saracens when the Madonna appeared on horseback and vanquished the enemy.

3 May 2008

Recent changes in the law regarding cheques and money transfers:  From 30 April, any amount paid over 5000 euros will activate fiscal checks.  You cannot  now write cheques for amounts more than 5000 euros other than being ‘non transferable’.  Any cheque written for more than this figure must also now include the recipients codice fiscale.

Modicasa can no longer accept payment in sterling for onward payments in euros.  From 1 May, these deposits must be paid in euros to modicasa by bank transfer with a description of the destination of the money written as the Causale.  We are preparing a fact sheet to help all our clients with the new laws.

19 April 2008

The menu for Eurochocolate 2008 has been published.  Coinciding with the festival fo San Giorgio, it runs from 24 - 29 April. Click here to learn more.

12 April 2008

The Roman villa at Tellaro near Noto is now open to the public.  The floor mosaics are particularly well worth seeing.

The theme for the Infiorata this year is Andy Warhol and pop Art.

The wind farm at giarratana has been given the all clear by the regional court.

8 February.

With looming elections, Eurochocolate has been finally scheduled for 23 - 27 April.  This means that Modica will have the festa of San Giorgio during Eurochocolate and it makes Modica an inviting destination for anyone thinking of a week in Sicily at the end of April.

The Minister of Transport has intervened in the long running saga of the Cassibile - Rosolini stretch of new road.  It will ‘definitely’ open within 90 days , as central government has taken action against the company responsible for the small contracts that are still outstanding.  The rest of the road to Gela js becoming more of a pipedream.

3 February 2008

We are pleased to announce that modicasa has been accepted as an affiliate of FIAIP - the association of Italian Estate Agents.  This means that we have a strict code of conduct as well as indemnity insurance to protect our clients.  FIAIP is the most respected of the Italian estate agency groups, and is a guarantee of quality.  To become an affiliate you must be proposed, seconded and vetted by other members, and it costs a fortune! We are confident that our new status protects our standing as the only legally operating foreign agency based in the south of Sicily, and look forward to bringing even better service to our clients.

Carnival is in full swing, with the biggest events at Sciacca, Acireale and Palazzolo. 

23 January 2008

New rules regarding residence in Italy have come into force - it is now not so simple for European residents to claim residency.  You must now prove an income of at least 5,061 euros per annum if you have no contract of employment, as well as private health insurance unless you are a state pensioner in receipt of the requisite certification from the UK government.

15 December 2007

Giarratana is to have a wind farm.  23 turbines of 70 metres each.  Other mini farms are planned with turbines at a height of 23 metres.

Modica is in full Christmas mode with a Christmas fair running daily till Epiphany and presepi sculpted in sand on display in the courtyard of the comune. 

8 December 2007

Money has been granted by central government for the new Sicilian parks.  At Ragusa they have found evidence of ancient Greek settlement.  At Modica a tunnel linking the castle with a church has been found after hundreds of years of rumours. 

Christmas officially starts today with the festa of the Immacolata.   In Siracusa it kicks off on Thursday with the festa of Santa Lucia, the city’s patron saint.

27 October 2007

Three new national parks are planned for Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, The park of Favignana and more importantly for our zone, the Iblea.  More details soon.

7 October 2007

A right of appeal has been granted in the ‘Val di noto trivellazione’ story.  It means that the local comunes have until Christmas to present a case for environmental damage that would be caused by Panther Oil.

A 40 mega watt photo voltaic ‘farm’ has been given the go ahead in the comune of Noto, though the exact location is not known.

16 September 2007

The ‘trivellazione’ rumbles on.  The mayor of Ragusa has let it be known that he is not against the rights of Panther to drill.  He is the only mayor to have expressed a positive opinion.  The mayors of Modica and Noto have come out strongly against any drilling, and are determined that no permissions can be granted because of the environmental impact of the work.

Comiso airport is set to open on 30 April next year.  The name for the airport is causing more arguments than anything else.  The original idea of Pio Torres has been vetoed and now the search is on for a personality worthy of having an airport named after him.

30 August 2007.

The regional courts in Palermo have granted the right for oil trivellation in the Val di Noto.  However it seems that all the appropriate permissions are not yet granted and the councils for the areas involved are adamant that they will not grant permissions.  The NO campaign is gathering pace, and the syndicate of all the UNESCO cities are determined that there should be no oil exploration. 

The new autostrada is still not open.  it seems that there needs to be illumination of the slip roads which will cost 13 million.  The plan is to open it only in the daylight hours in September, or wait for the lighting to be done.  Who knows when......

23 June 2007

The cathedral at NOTO, closed for over 11 years has been reconsecrated.  The building, now free from scaffolding, has been virtually rebuilt.  The internal painting remains to be done and will take another 2 years.

17 June 2007

The stories in the British press about oil exploration preempted the decision made by both Regione Sicilia and the Panther group.  Yesterday the papers reported that Panther has decided not to drill exploratory wells in the Val di Noto.  Regione Sicilia has rescinded any further applications and the matter is now dead.

28 May 2007

The long awaited opening of the new SS115 draws near.  The section between Siracusa (Cassibile) and Noto will be open by the end of June.  Noto-Rosolini has again been put back, this time to the end of the year.

20 May 2007

Ortigia (Siracusa) has become a pedestrian only island.  Although ideal for the day trippers who visit this enchanting spot, for those who live, work or have holiday homes on the island, it rings the death knell. The popular fruit and fish market which attracts tourists all year round it being moved to various other parts of the city.  The bus station is no more, and the buses now park well away from Ortigia, leaving visitors at the mercy of a free ‘navetta’ which has no timetable and no bus stops.  Shops are closing weekly.   Agents are predicting a significant fall in property prices.

13 May 2007

Next weekend sees the INFIORITA at Noto, where the streets are covered with flower designs.

Local elections under way in Ragusa province. Voting takes place Sunday 13 and Monday 14 May.

Plans to totally pedestrianise the island of Ortigia: Locals say it will be the death of the island, shopkeepers are already up in arms about the downturn in trade since partial pedestrianisation was introduced.

30 April 2007

Inaugural flight from the new airport - Pio La Torre - at Comiso takes place today.

No water shortages in the south east of Sicily envisaged this year.

Good weather ensures the season gets off to a good start with beaches and resorts well attended for the May 1st ‘ponte’

14 April 2007

The Festa of the Strawberry takes place in Cassibile at the end of April

Saint George, the patron saint of Modica, is celebrated on the 29 April with processions and a half holiday in Modica.

May sees Ragusa Ibla celebrating its medieval history with a month long festival of theatre, music and events.

6 April 2007

The new airport at Comiso is having its first test flight at the end of the month.  The papers report that RYANAIR are in talks to use the airport as a new destination.

The Non Solo Barocco Festival starts next week, with a Cinema Festival in Modica and other baroque cities of the south. 

Eurochocolate 2007 saw over 200.000 visitors, and the dates for next year’s event is fixed for 1 - 9 March 2008.