News

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.

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