by Andrea Tramonte
The protest was sensational and could not have been otherwise, knowing the character’s histrionics: Claudio Ara, owner of Luchia in Buoncammino, placed the balcony of the bar in the middle of the street, blocking traffic for a few minutes. For a few days the entrepreneur-chef-restaurateur, a historic name in Cagliari’s nightlife with the Harder Times brand, has been mobilizing to save his place from demolition. The Common Of Cagliari revoked the concession and, with a provision, ordered the dismantling of the kiosk. It is enforceable: this means that by July 9th the place will no longer be there, barring miracles. “Not even a serial killer – the entrepreneur blurted out -. We provide services, create jobs, redevelop areas. We are not criminals or do-nothings. Here there are 12 working families, 12 fed families. We are workers, you have to stop. This space is not mine nor yours. After I submitted to your harassment you took away my license. I have been doing this job for 48 years and I work hard to provide services and you treat me like a criminal.”
Luchia’s case is definitely on the limit, in a situation that has become incandescent even without reaching similar extremes. The problem is that of a regulation – or perhaps it would be better to specify: interpretations of the regulation – which in recent months has led to a climate of exasperation among operators and a frequent situation of fines and suspended licenses. The latest ones are from yesterday: the Brewbay House on Corso Vittorio Emanuele he will not have the concession of public land for thirty days because – according to the prosecution – the music inside the pub could also be heard outside. Instead at Binzas in via Sardegna the concession will be suspended for six days for having used more public land than it was entitled to.
The “Regulation for the concession of public land for the exercise of outdoor catering activities, serving commercial and artisanal activities and for occasional activities” was approved unanimously in City council in 2018, by the then centre-left majority together with the centre-right opposition. The following year Paolo Truzzu became mayor and the critical aspects of the regulation have materialized in the last year, with inflexible application and an ever-increasing climate of uncertainty among venue managers. With some somewhat paradoxical aspects: if one of the themes was to limit the diffusion of music outside the venues in a wild west situation, today there are those who are afraid of playing a few songs even just on piped music. There is now an example of school: the Bar Florio in Piazza San Domenico in Villanova he was fined because the music inside the club could also be heard outside, at a very early hour. The complaint was that the music inside the bar “entertained” the customers sitting at the tables outside. The regulation talks about “respecting the noise emission limits identified in the sectoral planning documents, with the adoption of suitable measures to prevent the propagation of sounds outside the premises”. The interpretation of the fact that the room had to have the door closed to avoid the propagation of sound is “extensive”: it is not written anywhere in the regulation. And after all, a place that works with external tables cannot keep the door closed, if only to allow the waiters to take the trays outside. So the clear alternative is that there is no music. And it’s a road almost all locals have traveled.
“We need to think about the past, present and future – he says Emanuele Frongiaentrepreneur and president of Fipe Confcommercio South Sardinia -. Before there were no rules and everyone did what they wanted, even music until five in the morning without limits. But it was a few cases, Cagliari was not known as a tourist city and the citizens enjoyed the music in some cases and that was the end of it”. Then the city began to transform and be experienced differently: lived-in squares, streets of the historic center with outdoor tables, a change that affects different areas of the city with positive and some negative aspects. One of these was that some residents began to complain about the noise until late at night, also taking it out on the locals for the noise that was produced on the street. Therefore the administrations – to which the residents ask to account for the noise – must find themselves mediating. The tool is that of a Acoustic abatement plan which however poses further limits compared to those already present. “The latest version approved this year further penalizes the premises without giving any benefit to the residents – explains Frongia -. The plan establishes coefficient of public land, closing times: it was not yet approved but it already gave indications to the Municipality managers, who must sign it and will also have to sign it in the future. Therefore the extensive interpretation of the regulation was made in light of the indications of the Plan. Even on the broadcasting of music outside clubs: if the regulation serves to sanction those who exaggerate, it ends up affecting anyone who plays music. The problem comes from there.” For the future – especially now that it is established there new council led by Massimo Zedda – we will necessarily have to think about it. Because here we are talking more generally about one idea of the city to carry forward, quality of life and enjoyment of cultural activities. “If we find ourselves faced with many situations that present irregularities, up to ninety percent of entrepreneurs, it means that the rule does not work – says Frongia -. In the summer it’s hard to imagine there not being a place to listen to music downtown. And I don’t really agree when they say that we need to push the nightlife somewhere else: go outside where? A city needs music and culture and Cagliari is increasingly less attractive for young people who are leaving. There is also a labor problem. We have always fought in favor of legality but it is clear that there is something that is not working.”
The new majority in the Council seems to agree on the fact that action will have to be taken. “The question will arise and not necessarily in terms of widening the mesh – he explains Matteo Massamunicipal councilor of Progressives -. The genesis of the ban on music outside clubs started from a reasoning and the need to avoid accumulation of music, especially in certain areas: if all clubs had it and even at certain volumes it would be a problem. Any reasoning made from here in the future cannot fail to also take into consideration some areas of hardship for residents.” According to Massa, the right to rest and health must be taken into consideration by finding a balanced political solution, because then the risk is that “in some areas where noise has a particular impact a judge could intervene”. The councilor is open to changes to the regulation, “with the diffusion of music within certain time limits” and trying to make overall considerations about the city. “We can identify freer spaces for musical and cultural offerings and I’m not necessarily talking about large concerts,” says Massa. Which also anticipates the orientation of the majority on another aspect: “Cagliari risks not having a summer cultural planning – he says – and we must try to streamline the procedures for requests for exemptions for cultural and musical events. I’ll give you an example: why not allow people to place a box in San Domenico pizza twice a month? I streamline the procedures, I find a balance, I help you and I don’t make it impossible. It would be a good thing for the city. It could be an act of direction or a resolution, to plan the summer.” And on the sanctions already imposed on the operators, who in combination risk causing the premises to lose their licenses: “Beyond the changes to the regulation, we will also consider reabsorbing some sanctioning situations”.
