Aside from the torment of the investigation into the executives, about which – at a national level – he continues to reject all accusations, which led him to resign from the position of undersecretary, the Hon. Vittorio Sgarbi undertook the electoral campaign for elections to the European Parliament in the ranks of the Brothers of Italy. And in Matera, after the presentation of the lawyer Emilio Nicola Buccico, who gave him an ‘assist’ in defense of the “Tommaso Stigliani” Library and the appreciation of the regional coordinator of Fdi Piergiorgio Quarto, the art critic touched on many topics , local and national, with the usual frankness, always saying what he thinks, also leaving room for hints of irony.
Sgarbi is at home in Matera and Basilicata and often goes there to discover or rediscover places of art that have struck him or have remained within him: from Irsina to Montescaglioso to Matera. In 2019 he would have liked to bring an exhibition of artists from the Venetian school to the City of Sassi, following an itinerary along the Adriatic marked by works scattered among churches, noble palaces and museums. He didn’t do anything about it. But the validity of that intuition remains… which can always be taken back. Intact love for Matera, which for the art critic and director of the museums of Trentino Alto Adige, is like “fireflies” … they dazzle and attract tourists, in search of uniqueness compared to other places where homologation is a constant. Of course, if Matera could count on a tourism plan, managed full time by experience and professionals who work in the sector every day and know how to observe and intercept the dynamics of change in the holiday industry, the results and prospects would be different.
“The experience of Matera, European capital of culture 2019, was the symbol of a South that has raised its head – said Sgarbi – and which can also be an example for other realities, which can invest in culture. Beauty and culture are important resources – which have led to the relaunch of the local economy, especially after 2019. People continue to come to Matera so as not to see what is standardized elsewhere. Here a plant grows among the stones. Life was born from the Sassi districts. We need to defend uniqueness, correcting some of the mistakes of 2019, to attract quality, original investors, as an entrepreneur did some time ago with the creation of a multi-family hotel”. And he cites the examples of Oscar Farinetti, who came to Matera, but also of Carlo Petrini who focused on uniqueness and what can be “glocal” to enhance territories, grow economies and create businesses. It is a path that must be taken up again, here as in other parts of the country, but by defending the territory from investments such as those of photovoltaic or wind energy, they have disfigured the landscapes of other realities. And in the South there is a Magna Graecia to be valorised, networking the heritage of civilizations and cultures of the past”.
As for differentiated autonomy, a subject – as he said, which he did not delve into enough – he spoke of opportunities to be verified, also evaluating the different experiences of the regional autonomies of our country. “If you look closely – said Sgarbi – Trentino Alto Adige is the reality, among the regions with special statute, that in terms of autonomy it is in the full sense of the term. Elsewhere the same cannot be said and it is precisely by starting from five different realities, from the Aosta Valley, to Sardinia, to Sicily to Friuli Venezia Giulia, that reflections need to be made. A topic to be explored further – he specified – demonstrating that even with fewer resources more can be done. And Matera, with the involvement of its citizens, has demonstrated that it knows how to do it.” A complex issue that must take into account yesterday’s delays, management inability, equal opportunities and with a southern question, which since the unification of Italy continues to be the catchphrase of Italy at two and three speeds, beyond the whirlwind of data” in progress” which does not stop emigration, cuts in services and competitiveness. Made in Italy to be defended, but large parts of the “manufacturing” of the Bel Paese have ended up abroad and others decide for us. Sgarbi, however, insists on investing in culture and invites the voters of Basilicata to contribute to his elections, confirming the voting indications of the regional ones and with Fratelli d’Italia as the first party destined – he claimed – to exceed 30 percent. As for the “five stars”, the percentage should not exceed 7 percent, according to data from the regional regions of Sardinia, Abruzzo and Basilicata. Suffrages for Fdi and with votes also from Grillo and Conte’s movement. Maybe. The invitation is to go and vote for a Europe that continues to provide an image of little autonomy and authority. To be reformed…We’ll see. As for the “Tommaso Stigliani” Library, a question raised by the lawyer Emilio Nicola Buccico, “former senator of the AN and former mayor of this beautiful city – as he recalled – but lost”, taking up a statement by the former parliamentarian DC Vincenzo Viti, we start again from what has not been done so far by the previous regional council, which has not taken steps to restore certain delegations and expenditure items to that important cultural institution, as was done in other regions after the rejection of the institutional referendum of the Renzi government and the reform of the former minister Del Rio who left things in the middle of the ford.
Regional councilor Piergiorgio Quarto, representative of the majority party in the future assembly, has the task of taking up the issue again. Attribution of delegations, certain expenditure items (and not dancers, recovered here or there at the last moment, strengthening of the staff (we went from 42 to 12 employees and without librarians) and, above all, decision-making autonomy. Culture cannot be it does so neither by delegation nor by choices decided elsewhere. Arguments on which a “pro library” committee which has so far collected 30,000 signatures continues to fall back. Naturally Matera is waiting for the Minister of Cultural Heritage Gennaro Sangiuliano to also take a position on the subject…
