Italy's old rubbish

The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung criticises the way Italy is treating its cultural heritage, as a growing number of its cultural assets pass into private hands. "Italy possesses more archaeological, architectural, natural and artistic treasures than any other country in the world. ... Since the rise of the clever cavalier Silvio Berlusconi, who has now appointed the government for the fourth time and whose policies have done irreparable damage to the country's institutions and political culture, there has been ... a dramatic leap - admittedly backwards - in terms of the quality of preservation so that [Italy] is now facing the complete sell-out of its cultural assets. Berlusconi casts himself as a moderniser: the country, he says, should get rid of as much old rubbish as possible. But apparently this includes not only its traditional cultural values and the beauties of Italy's landscape, which are being sacrificed to encroaching commercialisation and privatisation, but also its monuments and cultural assets - particularly in those cases in which they can be turned into lucrative sources of income for the state which then uses the proceeds to fill the gaps in its budget or reward its loyal voters."

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