60 Minutes: Scathing Review of Italy's Care of Cultural Heritage...
Oct 23rd, 2014, 12:22 PM
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60 Minutes: Scathing Review of Italy's Care of Cultural Heritage...
Interesting Sixty Minutes show on CBS last Sunday - it started off with an incredulous statement IMO that "Italy has 2/3's of the world's cultural sites" - well that is just pablum as just what is a 'cultural site' and how can Italy have 2/3s of them.
Anyway the gist of the coverage was on how Italy has dropped the ball on upkeep of its many cultural/historical sites - with many being neglected - even such blockbusters as the Colosseum.
The story centered on the Colossum's recent rehab that was funded not by the State but by the Fashion Industry (hope they do not put their name on it too)..
It also mentioned that waterworks in the Trevi Fountain are being replaced with $3.5 million in such private grants and that the Bulgari Company is funding the cleansing of the Spanish Steps and Venice's Rialto Bridge work being funded by $35 million from the same fashion magnate that is funding the Trevi work in Rome..
And the show blamed the lack of State involvement in these and many other desperately need up keepings of such places - saying such things as 'the government bureaucracy is so so top heavy that nothing gets done as lots of tax money is used to support this bloated bureaucracy with little left over for actual works like these.'
It further said that tax evasion is widespread in Italy with 40% paying no tax at all.
Anyway it blamed corruption in government and dereliction of duty as being the reasons many historical sites have suffered from centuries of neglect. And works that are done with government funds tend to take ages to finish (leading one guidebook to once say about some church: "The scaffolding on the front has been there so long that it is now considered to be part of the facade!" and they pointed to many rehab jobs that were started by mysteriously stopped in their tracks for years in some cases.
I've always been appalled at how even major Italian historical sites are allowed to go into neglect - and yes the scaffolding on say churches is ubiquitous and with such a sheer abundance of such sites it is a daunting task but still it always perplexed me.
Some Trivia About the Colosseum:
The show said there is no evidence that Christians were ever killed in the Colosseum though many were executed all over Rome.
Anyway I found the coverage interesting if at times of dubious accuracy - 2/3's of the world's cultural sites - that is sheer drivel based on some arbitrary list it would seem.
Anyway when you visit the spiffed up new Colosseum thank the Italian Fashion Industry!
Anyway the gist of the coverage was on how Italy has dropped the ball on upkeep of its many cultural/historical sites - with many being neglected - even such blockbusters as the Colosseum.
The story centered on the Colossum's recent rehab that was funded not by the State but by the Fashion Industry (hope they do not put their name on it too)..
It also mentioned that waterworks in the Trevi Fountain are being replaced with $3.5 million in such private grants and that the Bulgari Company is funding the cleansing of the Spanish Steps and Venice's Rialto Bridge work being funded by $35 million from the same fashion magnate that is funding the Trevi work in Rome..
And the show blamed the lack of State involvement in these and many other desperately need up keepings of such places - saying such things as 'the government bureaucracy is so so top heavy that nothing gets done as lots of tax money is used to support this bloated bureaucracy with little left over for actual works like these.'
It further said that tax evasion is widespread in Italy with 40% paying no tax at all.
Anyway it blamed corruption in government and dereliction of duty as being the reasons many historical sites have suffered from centuries of neglect. And works that are done with government funds tend to take ages to finish (leading one guidebook to once say about some church: "The scaffolding on the front has been there so long that it is now considered to be part of the facade!" and they pointed to many rehab jobs that were started by mysteriously stopped in their tracks for years in some cases.
I've always been appalled at how even major Italian historical sites are allowed to go into neglect - and yes the scaffolding on say churches is ubiquitous and with such a sheer abundance of such sites it is a daunting task but still it always perplexed me.
Some Trivia About the Colosseum:
The show said there is no evidence that Christians were ever killed in the Colosseum though many were executed all over Rome.
Anyway I found the coverage interesting if at times of dubious accuracy - 2/3's of the world's cultural sites - that is sheer drivel based on some arbitrary list it would seem.
Anyway when you visit the spiffed up new Colosseum thank the Italian Fashion Industry!
Oct 23rd, 2014, 12:24 PM
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Oct 23rd, 2014, 12:33 PM
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Anyway the gist of the coverage was on how Italy has dropped the ball on upkeep of its many cultural/historical sites - with many being neglected - even such blockbusters as the Colosseum.>>
I would be surprised if they know just how many ancient sites there are in Italy [or Greece or Turkey come to that]. I do know that when I was in southern Tuscany a few years ago, there were some that were completely unguarded and unfenced. When I ask if that didn't lead to theft, I was told that there was more theft when they were guarded.
As for private grants funding the work of the Trevi etc., there is a long history of private enterprise in Italy. I read once that for years, a particular man collected the money thrown into the fountain, everyone assuming that he did so officially. It was only when he was ill and didn't turn up for a few days that it was realised that he was pocketing the money himself!
I would be surprised if they know just how many ancient sites there are in Italy [or Greece or Turkey come to that]. I do know that when I was in southern Tuscany a few years ago, there were some that were completely unguarded and unfenced. When I ask if that didn't lead to theft, I was told that there was more theft when they were guarded.
As for private grants funding the work of the Trevi etc., there is a long history of private enterprise in Italy. I read once that for years, a particular man collected the money thrown into the fountain, everyone assuming that he did so officially. It was only when he was ill and didn't turn up for a few days that it was realised that he was pocketing the money himself!
Oct 24th, 2014, 08:54 AM
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I read once that for years, a particular man collected the money thrown into the fountain, everyone assuming that he did so officially.?
Yes one of the 'only in Italy could this happen' type things - wonder if they made him or his heirs give back any moneys left over. Money that could have helped pay for the upkeeping of the famous fountain just left to whoever picks it up?
Only in Italy!
Yes one of the 'only in Italy could this happen' type things - wonder if they made him or his heirs give back any moneys left over. Money that could have helped pay for the upkeeping of the famous fountain just left to whoever picks it up?
Only in Italy!
