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Interview with the Assistant to Rome's City Councilman for Culture
Rome's Plans for the Future
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For several weeks a very nice gentleman named Viola had been calling to ask if I didn't want to interview the Rome City Councilman for Culture for Made*In*Italy*On*Line. I was putting him off because I didn't have my web Travel & Fun ready yet for public view. But this is a country where people almost never return your calls, and I decided this was an opportunity I should not miss, so I said that I would be delighted to interview Assessore Gianni Borgna. After all, I already had a very popular page under my fashion web, a list of the most interesting art exhibits in Italy, along with a few world-wide.
Mr. Viola met me in Piazza Campitelli, and we went up to the Councilman's offices in a typical old Roman palazzo. Surprisingly, the offices were freshly painted and even air conditioned, a relief in what is proving to be Rome's hottest summer in 30 years. Mario de Carolis, a tall, attractive, pleasant man who is Borgna's assistant came out and immediately started apologizine because his boss was tied up in a Council meeting and he had no idea when he would be free. I said I'd be happy to interview de Carolis. Culture is, after all, the biggest asset that Rome has to offer its tourists, and for too many years the city has been taking its tourists for granted without making concrete efforts to improve the quality of life for them as well as its own citizens. Since his wife is German, perhaps this has given Mr. De Carolis a foreigner's view of Rome as well.
I read once that a survey found that the cities that tourists most liked to visit were the cities that offered the most quality of life to its own citizens. In other words clean air and streets, good public transportation, efficient management, a plethora of cultural offerings, to mention a few things. Rome is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and some also consider it one of the most romantic, but despite a lot of talk very little was being done to meet the needs of tourists. And one of the things that annoyed visitors the most was finding museums closed. "We're very proud that in the last two years we have managed to change things so that now our museums are among those that have the longest hours open to the public in the world. Tourists were furious when the arrived and found museums closed, especially on Sundays. Since we implemented this new policy of longer hours we have been able to pay overtime for the personnel with the additional admittance fees taken in. This past Easter the Prado in Madrid, the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the National Gallery in London were closed, but our museums were open from 9 to 19. Many of the museums owned by the state have followed our example.
"We are very proud of our accomplishments," adds De Carolis. "I don't think there is a city in the world that offers so much to its citizens and visitors during the summer months. We've launched a number of cultural activities in an effort to put Rome on an international level. We are one of the metropolitan cities with the least amount of crime. There's very little violence here. You can walk the streets of Rome at night without fear. We have organized many events this summer for Romans and for tourists, the press kit alone weighed over a pound! And some events will last all year long. The city put up 5 billion lire for these events, but the actual cost is 35 billion lire. ($ 1 = approximately 1750 lire) Over 2,500 people work at these events, and 40% of the attendance is made up of tourists, from Italy and abroad."
De Carolis anticipated some of his office's plans for Rome: "For the year 2,000 we are planning a large exhibit of the works of Bernini and Borromini, and an exhibit at the Palazzo delle Esibizioni about the 20th century that is ending with articles, photographs, paintings, prints, films, and surprises. We will have more space available in the Fori Imperiali to visit, we've been excavating for over a month and a half. This will be an even bigger dig than the one during the Fascist era. Visitors can also see the work in progress at the Mercato Trajano. The plan, which we hope to complete, will be to have a huge continuous area open from the Mercato Trajano to Colle Oppio passing through the Campidoglio. We are in the process of moving all the offices of city hall to other areas, there will only be an "official" office for the mayor and spaces for ceremonial events.
"The area of the Palatino belongs to the state and we are working with them. We also hope to open the Domus Aurea, the mosaics in Nero's house. The city and state are working together on this, and the Vatican also must be consulted as they still have sovreignty over certain areas, going back to when the papal state covered all of Rome and certain parts of Italy. The Terme di Traiano will also become a unique archeological area that can be visited." Despite their wealth of magnificent art, many museums in Italy have seemed hostile to visitors, with their limited hours and lack of bars, restaurants, and gift shops. "Fortunately the "Ronchey Law" has made enormous changes in what we are able to offer to visitors," says De Carolis. "Having bars and cafes in the museums gives people a chance to relax and rest their feet in pleasant surroundings. The Cafe des Arts, recently opened at the Museum of Modern Art, has a large terrace that has become a popular meeting place for Romans as well as visitors. There's also a nice bar in the new art complex in what was formerly the Peroni beer factory. Unfortunately some of the museums are in very old buildings that for logistical reasons makes adding these facilities difficult but we're doing our best."
Taking a deep breath, Mario De Carolis concludes: "We are trying to present for the new century a new city, without betraying its origins, a city that belongs to the world, a city that represents Western culture. We want the downtown to be free of government offices, and, as I mentioned earlier, we want to create the largest archeological museum in the world of the area around the Campidoglio. It's not easy convincing the various ministeries to transfer. We've also taken over a large military complex not far from Piazza del Popolo on Via Flaminia which will become a large museum for contemporary art. It has the enormous spaces that are necessary for such a project. And Rome will finally have an auditorium for music - this is the biggest public works project we've had in years. The first concert is scheduled for November 1999, which will be a concert in honor of Christmas and the year 2,000." My last question was: Do you have a dream? Something you'd like to see accomplished? The answer was "Yes, we'd like to export Massenzio, our summer project for culture, to cities like Paris and Berlin." Before I left, Mr. De Carolis gave me the famous 1-pound press kit for summer events in Rome. Impressive!
Logan Bentley Lessona
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