Italian police seize Nureyev's former residence turned luxury island resort
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ROME (Reuters) -A luxury resort formerly owned by Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev on a private archipelago off southern Italy's Amalfi Coast has been seized by police for suspected building code violations, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Ballet star Nureyev, acclaimed as one of history's most gifted male dancers and an accomplished choreographer, owned the spectacular Sirenusas or Gallos archipelago, which faces Positano, until his death in 1993.
His residence was later turned into a top-end tourist destination, with prices for weekly stays starting from $300,000, according to the website of resort operator In Villas Veritas.
The prosecutor's office in Salerno said police seized the entire facility, situated on the biggest of the archipelago's three islands, Gallo Lungo, due to the alleged unauthorized construction of swimming pools, a spa, a helipad and other facilities.
The entire archipelago is part of a natural reserve.
The founder and director of In Villa Veritas, Laura Blair, wrote in an email that the seizure was the result of a misunderstanding and said she was "certain that all will be cleared as soon as possible."
($1 = 0.9179 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro ParodiEditing by Alvise Armellini, Susan Fenton and Frances Kerry)
