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Official seeks to add fun rides to Rome attractions

“The model is EuroDisney in Paris.” — Mauro Cutrufo, Rome deputy mayor

Often dubbed the world’s most beautiful city, Rome’s cobbled piazzas, baroque churches and abundance of ancient archeological sites have long drawn tourists from around the globe.

But for the new deputy mayor, what the Eternal City really needs to keep visitors coming is not museums, but fun rides.

“The model is EuroDisney in Paris,” said Mauro Cutrufo, as he announced plans for a 500-hectare theme park on the outskirts of Rome, which could be ready in three years.

If Cutrufo gets his way, anyone bored of touring actual remains of republican and imperial Rome can head to the suburbs to see the same thing in fiberglass.

“You would relive scenes from the Colosseum, from ancient Rome, gladiators or maybe Julius Caesar or other things,” a Rome city official said.

After taking power in Rome this year, Cutrufo and Mayor Gianni Alemanno have sought to reverse the cultural legacy of former mayor Walter Veltroni. The free jazz concerts staged by Veltroni are gone, as is the annual White Night, an all-night event of open galleries and museums.

Cutrufo launched his alternative vision of Roman rides, bouncy Colosseums and candyfloss at a tourism conference. Unlike the young single tourists attracted to Rome by events such as White Night, Cutrufo said he wanted to attract more families to visit, to reverse a slight drop in visitor numbers, “because families contain more people.”

DISPUTE

More than 30 picketers were arrested outside Disneyland in California on Thursday in a contract dispute between Disney and its hotel workers.

The protesters were taken away in handcuffs after sitting in a busy intersection outside the park, many of them dressed as Disney characters such as Cinderella and Peter Pan.

The arrests followed a march by hundreds of maids, cooks and dishwashers from three Disney hotels.

The workers’ contract expired in February, and their union said Disney’s latest offer would make health care unaffordable and create an unfair two-tier wage system.

A Disney spokeswoman said that negotiations were ongoing.

The dispute involves 2,300 workers at the Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland hotels.
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