The Sicilian treatment

by Alex on September 3rd, 2008

With a new lifestyle condominium popping up every other week it’s become impossible not to notice Toronto’s rapid transition from the stuffy “Big Smoke” into Canada’s sexiest Frankencity. And maybe it’s foolish to feel a tinge of sadness when another historic building gets the condo treatment, especially when you consider that most of them were built in the beginning of the twentieth century. And we swear that our current disillusionment has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the fact that the Harvey’s at Yonge and Bloor was recently torn down, and subsequently relegated to the stuff of lunchtime lore, and stories that start with “When I was a kid.”

But, we’re not going to blame Toronto developers for our architectural depression, instead we’re going to point the finger at Vittorio Sgarbi, the mayor of Sicily. It seems mayor Sgarbi has decided to sell-off all the neglected buildings in downtown Sicily for 1 euro a pop. The catch? Anyone who purchases a derelict villa will have two years to renovate it in the traditional Sicilian style, which does not come cheap. Thankfully, the mayor isn’t worried: “We have had a lot of interest and people are already booking up to come down here.” Among the interested parties? Peter Gabriel. This means that in a few years Sicily will look like La Dolce Vita, and Toronto will look like a the Blade Runner set (as envisioned by a committee of lifestyle condominium developers).

To learn more about Sicily and to practice your Italian go here.

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