Italy is threatening to sue the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s for failing to value its historical and cultural treasures.
The country that bequeathed the world Dante, da Vinci and an enviable vision of La Dolce Vita, thinks financial analysts would not have issued a damaging credit downgrade against Italy if they had paid more attention to its cultural wealth than its spiralling budget deficit.
According to the Financial Times, Italy’s auditor general, the corte dei conti, believes that S&P may have acted illegally and could be sued for €234bn (£194bn).
The paper cites a letter from the corte dei conti notifying S&P that it is considering legal action: “S&P never in its ratings pointed out Italy’s history, art or landscape which, as universally recognised, are the basis of its economic strength.”
S&P has described the claims as “frivolous and without merit”.