Opponents to a recent overhaul of
Italy's cultural heritage system and other government reforms
are to gather in Rome on Saturday for a protest march under the
banner 'To have one billion euros and die of thirst'.
The slogan is in reference to the one billion euros in
funding recently made available by the government for a series
of "precise interventions, all of great size that have been left
incomplete or shelved".
Critics, including archaeologist Salvatore Settis, former
culture minister Massimo Bray and art historian Tommaso
Montanari, argue that these are "extraordinary funds...for
spectacular sites" that do little to address the "emergency"
affecting Italy's cultural heritage.
"Ours is a cry of alarm, the future generations risk not
inheriting the Italy that we know," Montanari said.
And so on Saturday starting at midday representatives of
Italy's cultural community will march from Piazza della
Repubblica to Piazza Barberini in protest, calling also for a
suspension of provisions for a greater role for the private
sector in cultural management and of the recent civil service
reform bringing the country's cultural superintendencies under
the auspices of the prefectures.
In addition, they are calling for new hires within the
culture sector, programmatic investments for research and
education and the introduction of art history teaching from the
first year of upper secondary school.
The demands hinge on article 9 of the Constitution
formalising the importance of protecting Italy's artistic and
natural heritage.
photo: Bray
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