The case of the management of the Donnafugata castle, Civita: "Volunteers are paying the highest price"

"The latest press reports confirm that, regarding the matter of the Castello di Donnafugata, the main theme continues to be avoided: someone within the Comune di Ragusa does not want to tell the truth clearly." This is stated in a note from the Civita association, which points a finger at the city administration.

"Civita has revealed a well-known fact about outdated and irregular management. It has made a serious proposal for partnership – which has cost time and money – in which it would have stabilized the volunteers, making them simply what they are: workers with full dignity. In return, we have faced unjustified attacks regarding the desire to privatize a public asset to pocket only management profits. But what profits? With the regularization of the workers – because that is what they are and because they will be recognized as such with the lawsuits that will certainly be filed in court, with clear repercussions for the Comune and consequent financial damage – (we write this, since no one else does), it is evident that the most complex issue for any operator would have been to make the management economically sustainable with its initial investments."

"We do not expect apologies, but careful reflection is necessary from those in public responsibility, because in all this affair, those who have paid and continue to pay the highest price are the volunteers who have been working – let’s use the exact term – at the Castello di Donnafugata for years and who would have certainly participated in the selection for the hiring that we would have initiated in time to face the new tourist season, legitimately aspiring to finally have a regular job after years of hardship."

"We have revealed how suspicious the timing and methods of the publication of the new call (for volunteers, thus persisting in irregularity) were, which was then hastily withdrawn and made even more evident the situation already reported in our press release of December 12, 2025, and emerged in these weeks in an even more serious manner. We have published the correspondence from the negotiating table with the Comune di Ragusa in full, precisely because we are a serious and transparent organization."

The association also presses on the safety of the site: "With the self-management of municipal employees announced by the Comune di Ragusa, will anyone verify compliance with safety procedures and fire regulations within the Castle for the workers and the public?"

And it adds another element: "Once again, it will be us to give news that the Municipality did not want to make public: our Company is still waiting to receive formal responses to the requests addressed to the Municipality of Ragusa and it matters little that the Head of the XII Sector has changed (strange, isn't it?). In a few days, the response deadlines set at thirty days will expire and, we announce, our letters for the appropriate judicial venues are already ready."

Clear conclusion: "We had promised and we will do it: we will continue to monitor the fate of a valuable cultural asset for all of Ragusa and for the entire Sicily."