Preserving the past: An international economic dilemma

Abstract

1. Prefatory Note A few yean whilst living temporarily in Italy there was considerable controversy about the whys and wherefores of preserving Italy's past, a controversy which has recently erupted once again in connection with the preservation of Venice. I found myself emotionally involved in this controversy in a curious way. While walking in Turin down the Via Lagrange (which commemorates the illustrious inventor of the undetermined multiplier so familiar to economists) I was struck by the poor state of repair of the Palazzo Cavour where the famous Italian statesman had lived which contrasted strangely with the fine memorial on the edge of the Razza Castello commemorating the vinicultural achievements of Signor Carpano, the inventor of vermouth. With some trepidation I wrote a little piece for La Stampa in which I used this contrast in treatment as the text for some observations on the economic problems of preserving the past. I did not want to appear ungrateful for the kindness shown to me by many Italians and was careful to point out that neglect of historic buildings was not a specifically Italian phenomenon. I forecasted that I would have to defend myself, despite my cautious wording in the article, against charges of ignorance and betrayal. My forecast was completely wrong. My views were taken as an exposure of the municipal and governmental authorities' lack of concern for the Italian heritage and the fact that a 'straniero' was the supposed critic seemed if anything to call forth more than the usual amount of vituperation which Italians like to pour upon their bureaucrats. (A senior official in the Ministry of Education had to issue a stout defense of official policy.) I found myself unexpectedly popular. I was invited to the exclusive Whist Club in Turin of which Cavour had been a member. More amusingly, the firm of Carpano wrote to me in some embarrassment for they actually owned the decaying Palazzo Cavour! Would I have lunch with them in order for suitable explanations to be offered to me about their alleged neglect of cultural heritage? But in the end, this 'storm in a teacup' subsided. Nothing was done and no one apparently expected anything to be done, and the Palazzo Cavour, I believe, remains much as it was. The point of the story is that it illustrates the common phenomenon that a