Cambridge, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2013 -- A recent socio-economic trend in Italy has seen many members of the noble and even royal classes convert their dwellings into villas in Sicily, opening them to the public in an unprecedented move.

This phenomenon is thought to constitute a measure to combat the economic recession which has been sweeping through Europe, and which is apparently taking its toll on the wealthier classes just as much as on the lower rungs of society.

These nobles, many of whom have long lost the economic clout they once held, have therefore decided to capitalize on their name recognition as a means to generate extra income.

The reasoning behind this trend is simple: according to many of the royals, tourists would jump at the chance to combine their stays in villas in Sicily with the opportunity to mingle and rub shoulders with royalty. One target audience in particular are Americans, notorious for loving that kind of experience and being willing to spend money to partake in it.

Among the royal names already partaking in this trend are Countess Maria Justiniani, landlady of a 15th century castle-turned-tourist-resort, Castel Venezze; Count Francesco Miari Fulcis, who runs 740-acre Fattoria di Maiano for his mother, a Corsi countess; Prince Gabriele Alliata di Villafranca, who converted his 17th century castle into a series of villas in Sicily; and Countess Stefania Von Holstein, who runs the medieval Castelo di Scipione along with her husband.

For some of these nobles, these conversions are also an attempt not to let the estates in which they spent part of their lives go to ruin, and thereby preserve some of the patrimony from their more economically stable days, whilst providing tourists with a new and exciting alternative for their Southern Italian holidays.

To book villas in Sicily, contact Essential Italy at http://www.essentialitaly.co.uk/ or call 01223 460 100.

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