The aim of rebuilding Pompeii’s ancient amphitheatre in tuff and reinforced concrete was to allow a show to be performed there. A show with lights and a stage set, violins and an orchestra. But is this the way to “make the most” of a world treasure? By relegating concerns for its protection to second place? Not according to Italy’s Court of Auditors, whose ruling contains harsh criticism of Pompeii’s former commissioner Marcello Fiori, appointed some years ago by Sandro Bondi and the Berlusconi government to “relaunch” the archaeological site. The court also ordered him to pay damages of €400,000. Who knows if this will be enough to convince those who manage similar sites to finally stop giving priority to making money through shows rather than to safeguarding Italy’s vast historical heritage.
 |
| The restored amphitheatre in Pompeii [Credit: Corriere Della Sera] |
Pneumatic drills, concrete mixers and bulldozers
But let’s go back to the beginning. To be precise, to 25 May 2010, when the Corriere published a report by Alessandra Arachi: “The noise leaves no room for doubt: the pneumatic drills with their unmistakable deafening vibrations. But then you just have to climb over a small fence and it’s there in front of you; it’s hard to believe your eyes.
The pneumatic drills almost become a mere detail in the terrible construction site of the amphitheatre in Pompeii, invaded by concrete mixers, bob karts, bulldozers, cables, sanders …” In a place where work should be carried out carefully with chisels and trowels, “the workers move among the ruins like bulls in a china shop”.
The complaint
Shortly afterwards, the head of the archaeological watchdog Antonio Irlando wrote to the ministry to complain of “works referred to in official plans as ‘Restoration and arrangement of the theatres in Pompeii for performance purposes’, which have evidently distorted the site’s original state”, in particular that of the cavea, which if compared to previous photos, has clearly “been rebuilt from scratch using modern tufa bricks”. Not to mention thick profiles in reinforced concrete.
As if that were not enough, to accommodate the “première” in what had been the ancient theatre – fitted with removable wooden steps which were subsequently rebuilt in concrete – huge containers were placed behind the scenes to contain the equipment and dressing rooms of the orchestra directed by Riccardo Muti, invited for the inauguration.
This had all received official blessing as part of an agreement to “make the most of” Pompeii and to “transform the amphitheatre into the South’s very own Arena of Verona”. The project also involved Naples’s San Carlo theatre, where the commissioner was Salvo Nastasi, later criticised by Paolo Isotta for other renovations including the construction (“or should that be destruction?”) of a bar in the legendary Neapolitan theatre. “Temporary” is the word they used to describe those obscene metal containers in the heart of the archaeological area. Nine years have passed, and they’re still there.
Expenditure
So what was the final expenditure for the renovation of the theatre, which initially should have cost €449,882 plus VAT? The sentence just issued by the court of appeal puts it at €5,778,939. A fortune. To be added to other “paltry expenses” of the director’s period of management. Such as the €102,963 spent for a census of the site’s 55 stray dogs: €1.872 per animal. Or the €55,000 spent on an order to the Mastroberardino winery for a thousand bottles of the wine “Villa dei misteri”, found by the subsequent management in the warehouses. Or the €3,762 for the purchase of seeds from the Antica Erboristeria Pompeiana, perhaps to be planted in the ancient gardens …
What is certain is that the sentence, written by the judge Cristiana Rondoni and signed by her colleague Angelo Canale, takes exception to the procurement procedure used, “without the prior publication of a call for tenders”. This should be possible “only in unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances”. The court also criticised the “abnormal use of the powers delegated” to the then commissioner to “set up an operation that the prosecutor’s office considers unnecessarily expensive for the state” and which “was seriously against the public interest”. And on “expenditure of over €1.5 million”, with “illegal ‘mark-ups’ amounting to over €700,000, corresponding to 44% of the cost of the goods and services supplied”. The list goes on and on.
The verdict
And so, overturning the previous verdict, which had acquitted the commissioner, the new ruling insists above all on what it means to “make the most of” a heritage site: “Making the most of an historical asset cannot mean merely ‘exploiting’ it for business purposes, nor must it mean altering in any way its physical characteristics or limiting its fruition by the public, seeing that artistic, and especially archaeological assets, which crystallize our history, are public assets par excellence.” This is especially the case if the “only logical explanation” for the exorbitant costs was “the commissioner’s desire to end his period of office in what was – and the term seems fitting – a spectacular way”.
Even worse, in order to keep to the programme and schedule he had set himself, and certain he would find sponsors, Fiori focused above all on the “technical specifications of the stage set”, neglecting his commitment “to ensure that the project was compatible with the need to protect the archaeological site”.
No respect for the rules
In order to speed things up, in the words of the ruling, “Fiori failed to respect any rules: those established in ordinances issued by the civil defence authority, rules on procurement, and legislation on cultural heritage. He also disregarded the concerns of the government commission, the general principles governing the use of public resources, and the rules of common sense…”
The payment
The final result was a court order for Pompeii’s former director “to pay damages of € 400,000”. Apart from being a nasty blow for Marcello Fiori – whom Silvio Berlusconi initially appointed after the disappointing result in the 2013 elections as the man to lay the foundations for rebuilding Forza Italia –, the sentence could mark a turning point on the issue of safeguarding our treasures. God knows how important it is to “make the most of” a treasure that belongs to us all. Precisely for this reason, however, that treasure must above all be respected.
Author: Simon Tanner | Source: Corriere Della Sera [April 30, 2019]
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий