Venice’s mayor has mocked critics of the giant billboards that cover many of the city’s historic monuments undergoing repair following an appeal by leading international museum directors and architects.
Giorgio Orsoni, speaking in a phone interview with AFP, advised disgruntled tourists to go home and look at photographs of the Bridge of Sighs or St. Mark’s Square from the comfort of their own sofa.
“What difference does it make if the scaffolding shows a picture of the building underneath or an advert,” Orsoni said.
Photo: afp/alberto pizzoli
“If people want to see the building they should go home and look at a picture of it in a book,” he added.
Addressing his critics, Orsoni quoted a Venetian saying that translates as: “Before you speak, be quiet.”
Growing anger over the huge, floodlit advertisements that obscure palaces up and down the Grand Canal drove art world figures to ask for tighter rules in an appeal to Venice’s mayor published in The Art Newspaper.
“We ask you to imagine the disappointment that the 17.5 million visitors to Venice this year will feel,” read the plea.
“They come to this iconic city with an image of it in their mind’s eye and instead they see its famous views grotesquely defaced,” it said.
Buildings covered by billboards this year include the Palazzo Ducale in St. Mark’s Square, the Santa Maria della Salute basilica and the Bridge of Sighs.
Signatories of the appeal included award-winning British architect Norman Foster, as well as the directors of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, London’s British Museum and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
But Orsoni said the advertisements were necessary as they were helping to fund the renovation of buildings badly in need of repair.
“The only way to get around the problem would be to have a magic wand and repair all the buildings in Venice without having to cover them up,” he said.
“These days public money is tight. I would be very happy to accept donations... if they’re willing to give them,” he added.
(afp)
威尼斯市許多歷史建築因維修以巨型看板遮住而遭到各界批評，但市長卻對這些批評嗤之以鼻。請願活動由國際知名的博物館館長與建築師發起。
喬治歐‧歐爾索尼接受法新社電話採訪時表示，建議不高興的觀光客可以待在家，舒舒服服地坐在沙發裡，看著嘆息橋或聖馬克廣場的照片。
歐爾索尼說，「鷹架上的圖案是原本被遮住建築物的照片或廣告，到底有什麼差別？」
他又說，「如果大家想看建築物，那就回家看那建築圖案的書。」
歐爾索尼引述一句威尼斯諺語回擊 ，那句諺語的意思是，「在你開口前請安靜。」
藝術界對於威尼斯大運河上，整條以探照燈照亮的巨大廣告遮蔽宮殿感到惱怒，並在〈藝術報〉請願，要求威尼斯市長制訂更嚴謹的相關規定。
該請求內容為，「我們請你想像一千七百五十萬名來到威尼斯觀光客的失望。」
請願書說，「他們心中帶著對此地既定的印象來到這座具代表性的城市，但是看到的卻是這整個被損壞的面貌。」
今年被看板遮住的包括聖馬克廣場的總督宮，聖瑪麗亞教堂與嘆息橋。
簽署這份請求的包括英國建築師諾曼‧佛斯特，以及紐約現代藝術博物館、倫敦大英博物館，與聖彼得堡冬宮博物館的館長。
但是歐爾索尼說這些廣告是必要的，因為所得將資助這些急需修復建築物的整修工程。
他說，「唯一可以應付這問題的，就是用一支魔術棒整修威尼斯所有的建築物，這樣就不必將它們遮起來。」
他又說，「最近公帑預算緊縮。如果有人肯捐錢的話…那我很樂意接受捐款。」
（法新社／翻譯：吳岱璟）
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