He was selling a part of the rock called the Turkish Staircase, which Elon Musk visited. Ferdinando Chiapara, 72, who has been complaining to Realmonte’s local authority in Agrigento for years about the monument’s upkeep after a long legal struggle, believes the billionaire will know how to take better care of it.
Sicily attractions
One of the most visited tourist attractions in Italy, the Scala dei Turchi, or Turkish Stairs, is also mentioned in the books of the late writer Andrea Camilleri, the supervisor of Montalbano.
Sciabarra, who previously worked for the local Chamber of Commerce, claimed his surname based on inheritance documents from the 19th century. And he regained his share of the rock after opening an investigation against him for his occupation of state lands.
He said he is now auctioning the site after his requests to local and regional authorities to introduce measures to better protect the site or turn it into a nature reserve were rejected.
Many tourists damage the rock that looks like a staircase
“It was not enough that I said we would give the area as a gift,” said Shyapara.
We got a promise, but nothing else. A year later, we’re worried that another influx of tourists will flood the Scala dei Turchira this summer, so we’ll put it up for auction and go to Elon Musk first.
From the southern shores of Sicily, the huge stepped boulders that extended into the Mediterranean were naturally eroded, but they were also damaged by the throngs of tourists because many carried bits of boulders made of soft white limestone.
And in January, the landmark was smeared with red iron oxide powder. The site was temporarily closed and taken over by prosecutors in early 2020 after receiving complaints about its poor condition. Sciabarrà was also investigated for offenses related to maintaining the site and ordered to pay a fine of 9,100 euros (HUF 3,446,000) last summer, guardian.
