The other day we blogged about the impending auction of the “Casa Rossa” (“Red House”), a memorial to a sad chapter in Puglia’s history when it was used to imprison Jews and other enemies of the Nazis. The auction took place as scheduled and the high bid of 1.2 million euros was submitted by the family that owns the Mario Adda publishing company. The company is familiar to those who have purchased tourist guidebooks and souvenir booklets that are available in various languages at newsstands and historic sites throughout Puglia; we have a collection of them in English and Italian.

Apparently, local government officials in Alberobello want to have a say in what’s ahead for the “Casa Rossa.” The town’s mayor, Bruno De Luca, in an interview with La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno (www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it), described the house as “the concentration camp of Alberobello” and said town officials plan to meet with the winning bidders to discuss the future of the historic structure. There has been talk of converting it to a hotel or convention center.

Historical preservation versus commercial development – who will win?

Photo copyright La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno