“Earthquake in Rome.” On the night of August 7, 2023, many people called emergency numbers to report that something was wrong. And yet it was not an earthquake, despite the fact that the shock was recorded by INGV seismographs. It was “just” a concert Travis Scott who did the boom with the beyond 60,000 spectators rushed inside the Roman archaeological area to jump and dance to the music of an American rapper. The concert, however, took its toll. From the existing balance: 60 drunk and robbed for using pepper spray in a crowd at a concert, a fourteen-year-old teenager who climbed over the fences of the Palatine Archaeological Park and fell from a 4-meter height.
All this led to a debate between the General Directorate, the Ministry and the Municipality of Rome about the possibility of holding such events in historical places. “The Great Circus is a monument, not a concert hall, and it must be respected,” he says. Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. “For this reason, a positive opinion will no longer be given on the use of the area for rock concerts. Given what has happened, including with regard to public safety, as well as the preservation and protection of the archaeological heritage, we will give a negative opinion on such events. Personally, I think that only such concerts as opera and ballet should be held in the Circus Maximus, and not rock concerts, which, in my opinion, should be moved to stadiums.
The Minister also expressed his opinion on the dispute. Gennaro Sangiuliano: “We must be proud of our heritage and therefore do everything to preserve it. But we must also work to make our sites lively and usable, obviously with all the necessary precautions. From museums to archaeological sites. This, of course, does not count vulnerable areas and unsuitable for events. On the other hand, the Circus Maximus does not historically fall into this category and has always hosted big and small.”
“In recent months,” the minister continues, “I appreciated the scientific seriousness and rigor of Director Alfonsina Russo and found her concerns reasonable, based on technical and administrative skills. Now the competent authorities will make their assessments. On August 15, I will gather all the general directors at the ministry, the appointment is at 11, among many issues we will talk about this.”
For the moment, the mayor of Rome, Gualtieri, is silent, but for the municipality, he responds scathingly Mariano Angelucci, President of the Rome Capital Tourism and Major Events Commission: “Travis Scott’s concert with Kanye West is actually going down in live concert history, and the major international newspapers are celebrating it as an absolute primacy in Rome. Last year, thanks to concerts at the Circus Maximus, the Municipal Office raised 2,100,000 euros to improve and protect our precious archaeological and monumental heritage, money that would otherwise never exist. The city also receives great tourist, economic and professional benefits. We regret that the director Alfonsina Russo, who today has serious problems with the online advertising of tickets to the Colosseum, which triples the costs for users, and is having difficulty managing the area under her responsibility, in the best possible way, where a single accident occurred yesterday with a boy who walked around the Palatine Square to watch the concert, please indicate it
type of show suitable for Circus Maximus.”
And more: “In his opinion, we should not have not only Travis Scott, but also Renato Zero, Ultimo, Vasco Rossi, Mengoni, Guns N’ Roses, Bruce Springsteen and Imagine Dragons. We have great respect for the history of our unusual city, for our thousand-year-old monuments and for the Great Circus, which is kept and maintained in the best possible way, but we believe that we must look to the present and the future, and it is wonderful that 60,000 children yesterday enjoyed listening to Rome, a little more of them. We are happy about it.”
Then it is also pronouncedAdviser for Major Events of the Municipality of Rome Alessandro HonoratoTo cast a negative light on an event that everyone is talking about in the international music world because someone on a balcony was annoyed by the return of music from a 72-minute event is a form of snobbery towards twenty-somethings. Last year, thanks to concerts at the Circus Maximus, the Municipal Office received 2,100,000 euros to reinvest in the upkeep and protection of the archaeological heritage.”
