Trevi Fountain Facade Falls Off

[Doc]

Well, a friend of mine sent me an e-mail stating the latest and greates hit of ambivalence to Italian culture. A piece of the ornate stucco on the front of the Trevi Fountain fell off into the pool below.

The culture minister was hounded by questions as to why nothing is being done to Rome's monumnets. The Trevi Fountain is one of the many structures on the hit parade with the Colosseum (apparently pieces have been falling off the facade here), Aqua Claudia, Aqua Felix, Domus Aurea, etc.

The answer by the culture minister is that there are too many monuments and the city of Rome is trying to do the best they can but more needs to be done to ensure the restoration and preservation of these old structures.

Then he went on with something that I found so ridiculous that if he were in front of me, I would have slapped him into the next century. He thinks that we should also blame the builders of these structures......You can read his comment in the article below towards the bottom. It is not the main body of the article since it is mostly about the fountain but all you need is one stupid statment to ruin the entire page.

What sort of idiot is this. I have an idea, lets prosecute Claudius' engineers for their method of building the Aqua Claudia because they did not see far enough into the future to predict that there would be changes in climate leading to water damage in an area that normally does not receive too much precipitation. :roll: We should also prosecute them for not seeing far enough into the future and predict that their supposed descendents were going to be a pack of mutant assholes (sorry for the expression) that can careless about their culture. :evil:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun...aintenance

[Robert Vermaat]

End of Empire.

[Doc]

Robert,

I was thinking the same thing. It is truly a shame. Well, as you very well know history repeats itself. Rome was an empire and it went under. The current city of Rome reveared, respected, etc for all that it has and represents, down the drain.

[caiusbeerquitius]

Well, as you very well know history repeats itself.

I´m not sure if it´s history. I´d rather repeat a wise man who said "Human stupidity repeats itself" ;-)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, to give them their dues, there is a lot of history to maintain....
Where does all this money comefrom?
Can't borrow it...See Greece! (and a few other EU countries)

On a brighter note, they seem to have done something to Trajans market.....
And there was work on going at the Golden House...at least woth all the barriers and scaffolding, it appeared so.

[Epictetus]

I wonder if there have ever been any studies completed that look at the economic costs and benefits of old sites. For instance, how much money does Pompeii bring in from visitors, and how much does it cost to maintain?

But to the topic at hand, I hope the Trevi Fountain is still picturesque at the end of August, when I'll be there! It was the second thing on my list of places to go, after the Colosseum.

[Robert Vermaat]

Robert,
I was thinking the same thing. It is truly a shame. Well, as you very well know history repeats itself. Rome was an empire and it went under. The current city of Rome reveared, respected, etc for all that it has and represents, down the drain.

Ah well. Rome was often in ruins. It will bounce back again in a few centuries if not before. :wink:

[Robert Vermaat]

Well, to give them their dues, there is a lot of history to maintain....
Where does all this money come from?
Can't borrow it...See Greece! (and a few other EU countries)

Tourism! If you stick to re-investing earnings from tourism into monumnets and infrastructure, it will itself! A lot of countries (all over the world) have done so. But if you are greedy and use the income from tourism in other areas for which you need fast money, this is bound to happen. As in Greece.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, to be fair to Greece, they put a lot of money into the infrastructure to support tourism.
The Metro, the improved Highways, and a Bridge.
The Acropolis has been undergoing renovation and repairs for years, the new museum to house the artifacts, the list is endless.....
Where a few other countries owe way more than greece, Greece is handicapped by a population of illegal immigrants which numbers 20% of the indigineous population.
This is all for another topic though.

Now, I have been to Rome Twice, seen the Colloseum from the outside twice, and have yet to see the Trevi Fountain....the yhave a lot to see, and a lot to maintain.
There is a lot of tourism there.....Greece too could benefit from extra tourism, as I doubt the recent activities of the extremists has helped encourage tourism....

Now, if we could stop al lthe wars, spend the money on renovating historical sites world wide, and throw a little at us re-enactors....there would be less friction in the world! 8-)


:-o hock: Oh, wait, let's recap recent events in the re-enacting fraternity.... :-| :-| :roll: :roll:

[MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS]

[b]UNCO TRAHATUR ![/b]


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[Alexand96]

I wonder if there have ever been any studies completed that look at the economic costs and benefits of old sites. For instance, how much money does Pompeii bring in from visitors, and how much does it cost to maintain?

I doubt that such an economic study has effectively been done before. Regardless, the problem with Italy and its crumbling monuments is purely an issue of corruption, at least far as I've been able to ascertain. And hence, I wholeheartedly agree with Caius's comments...

"Human stupidity repeats itself"

Unfortunate, but true.

[Doc]

Christian, I seem to agree with the insight of stupidity being repetitious.

I agree that it is difficult to maintain so many monuments. However, to push off the blame to the original builders either partly or wholy, is entirely a matter of utter stupidity.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

[b]UNCO TRAHATUR ![/b]


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What?

[Medicus matt]

yet to see the Trevi Fountain....:

I wouldn't rush, but then I loathe the bloated stylings of Baroque art and, after a week in Rome, would quite happily have not seen another marble sculpture for a very long time.

We came across it last year whilst taking a shortcut from the Pantheon to the Quirinal and wondered why so many people were crammed into such a small, building choked area....then noticed the Trevi.

I sympathise with Italy, trying to live in a museum can't be easy (as evidenced by the glacial progress of the new metro lines)....perhaps they should impose a tourist tax...oh wait, they already do.
State owned cafes in the city centre, that'd raise a fortune...given that the average price charged for a coffee there seems to be about €10.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Ten Euro a coffee?? You were obviously going to all the worng places Matt!