Sicily Governor Crocetta probed over neglected castle

(ANSA) - Siracusa, February 16 - Sicilian Governor Rosario Crocetta is under investigation over the poor state of a Medieval fortress, Augusta's Castello Svevo, ANSA sources said Tuesday. The site was recently confiscated by the Carabinieri and prosecutors believe the condition is a result of "lasting inertia" on the part of the Sicilian authorities. Regional managers Gaetano Pennino, Rino Gigliola, Sergio Gelardi and Gesualdo Campo are also under investigation, as is former governor Raffaele Lombardo, the sources said. The probe was triggered by a complaint filed by the Italia Nostra heritage-environmental association highlighting structural damage which, according to the prosecution, is "exclusively due to the lack of maintenance and abandonment of the monument by the Sicilian Regional Government".