Private sector heritage restoration provokes 1)……. in
Italy
August 02, 2011 01:11 AM
By Kelly Velasquez
The
Venaria Reale palace in Venaria Reale, near Turin. AFP. 8-2-2011
TURIN,
Italy: Winds of change are 2)……………… through the 3)………… palazzos and abandoned
ruins of Italy – as budget cuts in tough economic times force the managers of
famous monuments to 4)………. revenues and investment.
The
5)……………… Colosseum is being restored by
shoe 6)…………… Diego Della Valle, the ancient Roman city of Pompeii is looking
for private funders and the august royal residence of Venaria near Turin has
opened its gates to banquets and fashion shows.
“Our
system works and it can be used 7) ……………... We have a balanced budget,” said
Alberto Vanelli, the director of Venaria Reale, as he took a group of visitors
on a tour of the 8) ………. halls of this
palace once inhabited by Italy’s ruling dynasty.
The
huge structure, with a surface area of 80,000 square meters, was a residence of
the House of Savoy until 1815 and has since been bought by the state.
It
includes a Baroque chapel and 9) ……………… stretching out over 5,000 square
meters.
“Running
Venaria costs $20 million a year. Half of that comes from private donations.
The other half from entry tickets and services for visitors,” said Vanelli, who
has worked as a cultural counsellor for 30 years.
Vanelli
said his running of Venaria has been so successful that he is developing a set
of instructions on how to run public monuments with private funds.
“The
key,” he said, “is transparency combined with a business mindset.”
The
idea of private-sector thinking in running some of Italy’s best loved sites has
proved highly controversial however and the blood runs high among it’s
opponents .
In
2011 the then Culture Minister Giancarlo Galan 10) …………. into the debate when
he said he wanted to put his “heart and soul” into introducing private
management of cultural treasures.
At a
presentation on the 25 million-euro restoration of the Colosseum being funded
by Della Valle, Galan said there would be the offer of “fiscal advantages” to
companies that invest in culture.
“Culture,”
he said, “is a resource for our country.”
But
campaigners have warned that it’s a 11) ……………….. 12)………………. toward
privatisation.
In
July 2011 activists 13) ………/……………. the Valle – an 18th-century theatre in the
heart of Rome – after it was rumoured it would be 14)…………/…………… into private
management and turned into a lavish restaurant or even a delicatessen.
“Keep
the Valle public!” activists said in a statement after 15) ……………… themselves inside the building and held a
series of talks and concerts.
That
was 2011, now the activists have moved on “We’re 16) …………/…..……/…………. a new
statute for a foundation that will run the Valle and that we hope will revolutionise
the way culture is managed in Italy,” they said earlier this week. “The most
important idea is that culture is a common good!”
In a
recent protest outside the gates of the ancient Roman city of Pompei, which was
buried in ashes by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79, activists put up
signs reading “For Sale” and “Don’t 17)…………… Pompeii Again With Your Money!”
Public
cultural officials like Vanelli say the new times are an opportunity.
He has
hired out the palace for concerts, private weddings and even cookery contests.
The
residence also hosts prestigious exhibitions including an ongoing one of
masterpieces by Caravaggio, Giotto, Titian and a planned one of Leonardo da
Vinci.
While
it is common practice in other parts of the world, innovative ways of 18)
………………/…………. revenue for public monuments are still relatively rare in Italy.
That all has to change, according to Vanelli.
“Let’s
all bet on some modernity!” he 19) ………………...
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