Public vs. Private Rome

Colosseum

Theater of Marcellus

Wednesday was quite a day for two ancient monuments, the Colosseum and the Theater of Marcellus. These two buildings have a connection in the past, even though the Theater of Marcellus predates the Colosseum by some fifty years. If you look at the above, you'll see that the architectural features of the Colosseum were based on that of the Theater of Marcellus, especially in the arcades—look at the columns closely and you'll see that both have Doric columns on the bottom level, Ionic columns on the next, and ornate Corinthian columns on the third level. Both use a local limestone, called travertine, for their exterior decoration.

But this week both have been involved in the critical issue of whether Italy should look to private companies to fund the upkeep of their national treasures.

Wed., July 31, 2013 was the date that the former mayor and his council set to grant contracts to private companies to "provide services" for the archaeological park consisting of the Theater of Marcellus, the Temple of Apollo Sosius, and the Porticus Octavia. I have had a hard time interpreting what "services" meant, but it is clear from the articles (in Italian; I've yet to see one in English) that the Italian government was looking for ways to increase resources to keep up their archaeological heritage—not least because the financial situation in Italy is dire at best (see July 14 post). The moratorium, which is to last 120 days, is meant to give the council a chance to reassess the best way to preserve and promote this site, which is rather forlorn. It could use some sprucing up, but it remains the question how the Italian government will go about doing so.

Also, cleaning and renovation on the Colosseum is set to go. I realize that I reported that work had already begun, but, well, this is Italy after all, and Codacons, a consumer watchdog group, filed a final appeal to stop the shoe magnate della Valle from financing the project. It was rejected, and without any further avenues of appeal, the work is set to commence. As part of the deal, della Valle has exclusive rights to use the Colosseum in his advertising, and conversely to put his shoe company's logo on tickets to the Colosseum. I'll say this: since Valle's announcement of his willingness to refurbish the Colosseum was made in August 2010, he has gotten three years' worth of free press. Hard to ask for more.

Well, yesterday was an even bigger day for Rome. Following Mayor Marino's plan, the Via dei Fori Imperiali from the Via Cavour to the Colosseum yesterday became pedestrian only, making one giant archaeological park in the middle of downtown Rome. Merchants in the vicinity are not happy—the traffic will be hellish—but for lovers of Roman archaeology will be pleased that Marino's plan is also to increase archaeological excavations there. A well-known classics professor, Luciano Canfora, has likened Marino to Nero (reigned 54–68 AD), who famously carved out a giant section of downtown Rome for his personal villa, the infamous Golden House. A good overview of the reorganization of the Via dei Fori Imperiali—including the first announcement by Marino of his "grand plan" (to have all of the Via dei Fori Imperiali pedestrian—can be found here, in this article in the Herald Tribune.

Weekly Tidbits:

An update on the excavations in Ostia antica (see post on July 21). An article on Roma.Repubblica.it gives new (and better) pictures of the 4th c. AD domus. They also described the new 1st c. mausoleum, as round and revetted in travertine, but another article with pictures clearly shows that the mausoleum is hexagonal.

The Terme Boxer (or Boxer at Rest) is now back in the Palazzo Massimo Museum after a stint in NYC. It's a fabulous Hellenistic sculpture that, frankly, is worth a trip to Rome all by itself. Here is a picture from Wikipedia Commons. Note the straps around his hands (not gloves like today!), and ask yourself, "what is he looking at?"

Laser cleaning technology is catching on. I reported last week that the frescos at the Villa of the Mysteries were being cleaned this way. Now, a report was just published that Diocletian's imperial palace at Split is also being cleaned in this fashion.

The "Are You Serious Files"

On Tuesday, police raided the home of former Cabinet Minister (under the Berlusconi government), Claudio Scajola, who was under investigation for illegal financing, among other things. What did they find? Illegal Roman amphorae.