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Falling Christmas decorations cause ‘irreversible damage’ to Italy’s Verona Arena

The Verona Arena, one of Italy’s most iconic landmarks, was closed to the public after a giant steel Christmas decoration collapsed while being taken down on Monday.

Published: 24 January 2023 17:42 CET

An aerial view of the Verona Arena

An aerial view of the Verona Arena. Photo by Rui ALVES Unsplash

The accident happened in the late morning of Monday, January 24th but was only revealed to national media late in the evening.

Verona’s Archaeology and Fine Arts Superintendent, Vincenzo Tinè, told Ansa that the steel comet fell to the ground as it was being lifted out of the amphitheatre.

The structure – 82 metres in length and weighing around 78 tons – reportedly defaced a section of the arena’s stands, with Tinè describing the damage to the venue as “irreversible” earlier on Tuesday.

Local police sealed off the area immediately after the accident, and prosecutor Alberto Sergi was reportedly set to launch an official inquiry into the collapse.

Repair works were expected to take weeks, and it wasn’t known how long the arena would remain closed to the public.

Well-known figures from Italy’s art world commented on the accident, with controversial art critic Vittorio Sgarbi saying the steel comet, which has been used as part of the building’s Christmas decorations since 1984, should “never be let into the arena again”.

A Roman amphitheatre dating back to around 30 AD, the Verona Arena is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved ancient buildings of its kind.

To this day, the building is used as a venue for some of the most important large-scale opera performances in the world.

Member comments

Anonymous - 26 January 2023 at 11:05 CET

That photo is of a Roman arena — but nothing like the famous Arena di Verona!!

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'Make Venice more liveable': Floating city prepares to trial 'tourist tax'

As of Thursday – a public holiday in Italy – day visitors will for the first time have to buy a €5 ticket, monitored by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points in the UNESCO world heritage site.

Venice is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, with 3.2 million visitors staying overnight in the historic centre in 2022 – dwarfing the resident population of just 50,000.

Tens of thousands more pour into the city’s narrow streets for the day, often from cruise ships, to see sights including St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.

The aim of the tickets is to persuade day trippers to come during quieter periods, to try to thin out the worst of the crowds, the local council has said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Initially, tickets will only be required on 29 busy days throughout 2024, mostly weekends from May to July.

But the scheme is being closely watched as tourist destinations worldwide grapple with surging numbers of visitors, who boost the local economy but risk overwhelming communities and damaging fragile ecosystems and historical sites.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, has described the city’s scheme as “an experiment, and the first time it’s been done anywhere in the world”.

“Our aim is to make Venice more liveable,” he told reporters earlier this month.

Tourists walking towards Venice's St Mark's Square

Tourists walking towards Venice’s St Mark’s Square in July 2023. Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP

UNESCO warning

Venice, spread over more than 100 small islands and islets in northeastern Italy, is considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

The UN cultural body UNESCO listed the city and its lagoon as a world heritage site in 1987, citing it as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”.

But UNESCO threatened last year to put Venice on its list of heritage in danger, citing mass tourism and also rising water levels attributed to climate change.

Venice only escaped the ignominy after local authorities agreed the new ticketing system.

The idea had long been debated, but repeatedly postponed over concerns it would seriously dent tourist revenue and compromise freedom of movement.

READ ALSO: ‘It’s not Disneyland’: What Venice residents really think of new ‘tourist tax’

During a debate on the plan last September, opposition councillors cast the measure as a hastily arranged concession to UNESCO that would not have any impact.

“Fifty euros might have done something,” said one, Gianfranco Bettin.

In 2021, Venice had already imposed a ban on massive cruise ships from which thousands of day-trippers emerge daily, rerouting them to a more distant industrial port.

It has also introduced a tax for overnight visitors.

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice on June 5th, 2021.

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP.

No queues

Venice’s mayor has promised the new system will be imposed with a light touch with “very soft controls” and “without queues”, rejecting speculation the city would be installing barriers or turnstiles in the streets.

Controllers will be stationed in and around the city’s main entrances, notably the Santa Lucia train station, performing spot checks on visitors.

Tourists without their ticket will be asked to purchase one on arrival, with the help of local operators.

OPINION: Why more of Italy’s top destinations must limit tourist numbers

But they could also risk fines ranging from €50 to €300.

The “Venice Access Fee” targets only daily tourists entering the old town between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm, with tourists staying in hotels, minors under 14, and the disabled among those exempt.

For the time being, there is no ceiling on the number of tickets – downloaded in the form of a QR code from an official website, distributed each day.

By AFP’s Gildas LE ROUX

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