Yesterday Vittorio Sgarbi it was a Reggio Calabria, in view of the European elections, for which he is a candidate on the Brothers of Italy list. The art critic, on the sidelines of the press conference, relaunched an idea that he has been proposing for years: that of temporarily moving the Riace’s bronzes to make them known to the whole world. This time, however, he enriched the proposal launching a trade: the two statues in the Louvre in Paris and the Mona Lisa in the Museum of Reggio Calabria.
The proposal
“It is unheard of that a State that has responsibility for an extraordinary heritage which in Reggio has the most important thing in the world, which are the Riace Bronzes, is unable to send them to Paris or New York. The Riace Bronzes could go to the moon, but instead they invented limitations that prevent them from being moved after they have been under water for 2,500 years while resisting the elements. They are just lies and lies, from the same superintendent who allowed one of the two Bronzes to be dressed as a transgender…”he said.
“I propose that they go to the Louvre in exchange for the Mona Lisa. The only thing in the world as important as the Mona Lisa are the Riace Bronzes: let’s do a twinning and bring the Mona Lisa to Reggio Calabria and the Riace Bronzes to Paris. It would be an honor for Reggio, no harm to anyone. It’s ridiculous to think that someone will take them away, that they won’t come back, it’s obvious that they would only be out for 4 months doing absolute publicity in Reggio Calabria, and then they come back and stand here and everyone comes here to see them. All of Capodimonte’s works have already gone to the Louvre, and they have made Italy great: from that moment on, attendance at Capodimonte has increased dramatically. The south rises again with culture, not with a false economy like the ILVA of Taranto: we value beauty, with culture we can eat and tourism proves it. We have Pompeii, Sybaris, the Riace Bronzes, they are absolute beauties. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, sending the Bronzes there means taking them to the most important place in the world.”
The debate
Obviously, just like all the times that the art critic has addressed this topic, the debate it opened and fed, with opposing factions. For many people from Reggio it would be madness, for many others it would be a tantalizing idea. And what do they think outside of Reggio? Sgarbi spread his thoughts on social media, finding various comments in response to the post. Comments not from Reggio. Most find the idea fascinating. “Great idea! I totally agree. Italy has culture as a great resource”, we read in a comment. But also “Magna Graecia and the Italian Renaissance are masterpieces of humanity, as many people as possible should see them! Great, I like the idea!”. Or “Maybe in this way the Mona Lisa would be made known to those who have never seen it, it would be a wish of all the people of southern Italy for good work and that it ends with a happy ending”.
These comments are contrasted with other contrary ones, even if to a minimal extent. Instead, those of some visitors were enchanted by the beauty of the Bronzes: “I saw them in Reggio many years ago. They are disarming in their beauty and grandeur”we read in a comment. “I saw them last July. It was an indescribable emotion”, writes another user. The demonstration, if any were needed, of the great consideration that these two statues have not only outside Reggio and Calabria, but also outside Italy and Europe. A priceless heritage, a historical symbol that has few equals in the world.
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