Following a long period of decline, Sammezzano Castle has been purchased by Helitrope Limited, a Dubai-based company, for 15 million 400,000 euro.
At the sale in Florence, 30-year-old Puneet Gope Shahani represented the company, which was the only one to bid for the property. The company now has 120 days to pay the outstanding amount, at which point Helitrope Limited will become the sole owner of Sammezzano Castle and its land.
Reggello mayor Cristiano Benucci commented on Facebook, “The auction for Sammezzano Castle has just come to an end, which I attended personally to represent our residents’ apprehension regarding the castle’s fate. A 15.4 million bid was made by a company from the United Arab Emirates, to which the castle and entire complex has been sold on a provisional basis. There will be ways and means in which the new owners will be able to talk about their ideas with the council and in the meantime we hope that the new owners will take Sammezzano into their hearts, protecting it and immediately putting into action the measures needed to combat the decline and make the place safe again.”
The sale makes a turning point in the castle’s history, situated near Leccio in Tuscany and designed in the 19th century by nobleman Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona. For the last 15 years, it was owned by the Italian-British holding Sammezzano Castle Srl, whose attempts to relaunch the destination as a luxury hotel failed.
