The recent European economic crisis has forced some Italian royalty to get resourceful.
They're opening the doors to their sumptuous castles to tourists, turning estates into bed and breakfasts and luxury vacation rentals.
After centuries of family money has dwindled amongst the aristocracy, where noble titles haven't held legal clout since the ending of Italy's monarchy in 1946, some nobility want to use their names for still another purpose: as a means of celebrity.
They figure tourists will not only want to stay in some seriously lavish lodgings, they also will be dazzled by the presence of royalty.
"Americans love to meet, talk and dine with a count or prince," Countess Maria Giustiniani told NBC News.
Giustiniani is landlord of Castel Venezze, a rural lodging near Venice from the 15th century that she turned into a resort.
She shelled out a few million dollars for the renovations. To run her 80-acre property, Giustiniani pays several thousand dollars a month-she claims her revenue is enough to stay afloat, and that she is satisfied with her profits.
The same cannot be said for Count Francesco Miari Fulcis, who manages a 740-acre castle called Fattoria di Maiano for his mother, Countess Lucrezia Miari Fulcis, a member of the Corsis family of Princes.
"Revenues have dropped 25-30 percent compared to 2007," the Count said. "Sustaining agriculture is expensive, while sky-high property taxes and the hellish bureaucracy are straining us. You can't live on asset value anymore."
His overall maintenance for tourist and agriculture-related activities-which include running on-site olive oil production-come out to an average of a million dollars per year.
Still, the trend is becoming more popular as royalty realizes that there is a fair amount of revenue associated with tourist travel.
Another member of royalty, Prince Gabriele Alliata di Villafranca, renovated his 1600s estate in Sicily, called "Le Case del Principe," into a group of villas. Tourists, traveling business people, and couples getting married, often rent out these luxurious places to stay.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
