A unanimous chorus of consensus on the proposal of the president of Confcommercio Lucio Mayor to keep the shops in the city center open at least in the Sundays or moles holidays of free opening of the Palace. «I am so favorable to this hypothesis that I already do it“, He says Gerardo Prodomo, owner of the men’s clothing shop of the same name in via San Giovanni and president of the provincial section of Federmoda. «I have been opening – he continues – every Sunday for some time now in the belief that the city must give its best service possible for those arriving in the city but also to counteract the fierce competition from the nearby shopping centres. Obviously it is an unequal struggle, especially due to the lack of parking that the city suffers from.” A common complaint among many merchants, but the advantages remain, according to Prodomo: «How is business on Sundays? Certainly Better than if we were closed. Indeed, we often work more on holidays, when people are free and go around carefree, than, for example, on Mondays when we return to our jobs and have no time to waste. Then it also depends on other factors such as weather forecast: if it rains there is less movement and less business. One thing that is desirable, however, is that we can rely more on the municipal administration, which often makes decisions without discussing it with us in the sector. In short, we would need more and more fruitful collaboration also to avoid the commercial desertification of the historic center: in via San Giovanni alone there are 25 shops closed.”
Also Mario D’Anna, a historic exponent of the clothing sector and owner of some shops located in the central Via Mazzini, is in favor of the Sunday opening proposal. «We were open every Sunday of April – he says – now, however, with the times improving and the tendency to go out of town, we have decided to remain closed. The situation could change on the occasion of first Sundays of the month when the Palace is free to enter and, above all, if he came the Corso Giannone gate opened. So it would be worth keeping the shops open on public holidays. At present, the tourists who enter the city after visiting the monument are not a significant number. Furthermore, despite the many sacrifices we have made to remain open, we have not had encouraging feedback from the municipal administration. For example, why not reopen the passageway overlooking Corso Trieste from the car park of the former Pollio barracks? Due to these disruptions we have lost many customers who previously came to us from neighboring regions.”
Milena Izzo, owner of “Emme Marella” on Corso Triste, not only supports the need to open, but demonstrates it in facts: his is one of the few businesses open every Sunday. “There Palace bring a lot peoplebut to entice her to enter the city we must create the conditions. Not closing shops on public holidays is a way to demonstrate our availability. Obviously, one cannot expect to immediately reap the fruits of this choice. Continuity is needed for the habits of operators and customers to change.”
He also agrees on the appropriateness of Sunday openings Alessandra d’Alessandro, co-owner of the Nida shop, in via Mazzini. «But on the condition – he says – that the thing is continuous and that they join everyone the colleagues. Otherwise the effect is weakened. We have done a lot sacrifices to remain open on Sundays, but we encountered many difficulties: from the lack of staff availability to the relative presence of customers. The Palace attracts large masses of tourists, but they rarely stop for important purchases. On the other hand, our regular customers generally do not come on public holidays. Therefore, I repeat, if this decision must be made, it needs to be common and become a habit for everyone.”
Pino Iannielloowner of the historic shop in via Mazzini, shares the idea of Sunday openings: «In fact I believe that, especially on the occasion of free admissions, it would even be necessary. It is a way to welcome tourists and give the city aimage more alive and vital. While we continue to hope for the opening of the Giannone passage: this would be the real turning point for commerce and for the city.”
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