FIRST SECTION
CASE OF AUTRU RYOLO v. ITALY
(Application no. 9112/10)
 
 
 
 
JUDGMENT
 
STRASBOURG
12 October 2023
 
 
 
 
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Autru Ryolo v. Italy,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
 Péter Paczolay, President,
 Gilberto Felici,
 Raffaele Sabato, judges, 
and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to:
the application (no. 9112/10) against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 14 January 2010 by four Italian nationals, whose relevant details are listed in the appended table (“the applicants”), who were represented by Ms M.S. Mori, a lawyer practising in Milan;
the decision to give notice of the application to the Italian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Mr L. D’Ascia;
the parties’ observations;
the decision to reject the Government’s objection to examination of the application by a Committee;
Having deliberated in private on 19 September 2023,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
1. The case concerns the expropriation of the applicants’ land and the award of compensation based on the “average agricultural value” of the land. 2. The applicants were the owners of a plot of land located in Giardini Naxos and recorded in the land register as folio no. 6, parcels nos. 57/b, 57/a, 58 and 855. The land, which is part of the Naxos archaeological park, was designated for archaeological purposes by the 1985 general land-use plan (piano regolatore generale) and was subject to the restrictions on the use of archaeological finds (vincolo archeologico) provided by Article 11 of Law no. 1089 of 1 June 1939. At the time, the applicants used some of the land for farming citrus and allowed for the land to be used for archaeological excavations. 3. On 21 October 1993, the administration initiated a procedure for the expropriation of a part of the applicants’ land, measuring 8,375 square metres and corresponding to parcels nos. 57/a and 855, for archaeological purposes. On 7 April 1994, the administration authorised the immediate occupation of the land in question and, on 21 December 1996, it issued the expropriation order. 4. The compensation offered to the applicants was based on a valuation conducted by the Messina Expropriation Commission, which considered that the land had building potential and determined its value at 1,507,500,000 Italian lire (ITL), corresponding to 778,559 euros (EUR). Nevertheless, based on the criteria contained in section 5 bis of Law 359/1992, the applicants were offered compensation in the lower amount of ITL 454,448,435 (EUR 234,703). 5. The applicants instituted judicial proceedings, arguing that such compensation was insufficient, and the Messina Court of Appeal appointed an expert to carry out a valuation of the land. 6. The expert noted that the restrictions on the use of archaeological finds did not entail an absolute prohibition on building but, rather, allowed for the possibility of other uses, provided that they were compatible with archaeological interests. It further noted that, in 1976, the administration had issued a note according to which building on part of the land was compatible with archaeological interests, whereas the remaining part was not constructible. On this basis, the expert concluded that 1,955 square metres of the land had to be valuated as constructible and determined their market value at ITL 508,300,000 (EUR 262,515). 7. As to the remaining 6,420 square metres, they could be used for purposes other than agriculture, such as a camping area or other tourist facilities. Furthermore, the applicants could have obtained compensation in case of new archaeological finds on their land. Therefore, taking into account the price of similar land, the expert determined the market value of this part of the land at ITL 100,000 per square metres and, overall, at ITL 642,000,000 (EUR 331,565). 8. On 18 February 1999, the Court of Appeal asked the expert to conduct a further valuation, by applying the average agricultural value (valore agricolo medio). The expert noted that the land was partially used for the cultivation of citrus and indicated the value of ITL 10,000 per square metre. 9. By a decision of 4 November 2005, the Messina Court of Appeal considered that the entire plot of land was non-constructible and, by applying the average agricultural value, awarded compensation for the expropriation in the amount of ITL 83,750,000 (EUR 43,253). The Court further awarded ITL 18,901,909 (EUR 9,762) in compensation for the occupation of the land (indennità di occupazione), using as a starting point the same average agricultural value. 10. The applicants appealed to the Court of Cassation which, by a judgment of 14 July 2009, confirmed the non-constructible nature of the land. In particular, it noted that the land was subject to the restrictions on the use of archaeological finds provided by Article 11 of Law no. 1089 of 1 June 1939, which only permitted construction insofar as it was compatible with archaeological purposes. In the case at hand, the court found that no construction was allowed, as the archaeological interest at issue was not confined to isolated finds but, rather, extended to a large area covered by the ruins of the ancient city of Naxos. As to the note issued in 1975, it was considered irrelevant, as it was merely a preliminary assessment and, in any event, in the twenty years that followed, further excavations had taken place. On these grounds, the Court of Cassation dismissed the applicants’ appeal. 11. The applicants complained under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention of a disproportionate interference with their property rights on account of the allegedly inadequate amount of compensation they had received for the expropriation of their land and for the period of lawful occupation.

Outcome for Article P1-1: violation