Italy Hopes Sale of Island Will Help to Pay Debts
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iStock/Thinkstock(ROME) — A financially desperate Italy has put an island in the Venice lagoon up for auction to help pay off its public debt. The Venetian island of Poveglia is one of a range of historic sites that Italy has put on sale, including a Catholic pilgrimage site and a 15th-century bastion.
Italy hopes the sale of these properties will bring its debt in line with European Union regulations. The government owns more than half a million commercial and residential properties that Italians and foreigners will have the chance to bid for online.
In the past 13 years, Italy has raised $2.5 billion by selling off state property. It expects to earn another $700 million more this year through the sales.
As a move to make the properties more enticing, Italy has cut down the number of permits needed to restore historic sites.
The auction is open until May 6.
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