A message from Bernie Fischer:
Please forward this to your family, friends, and colleagues.
Dear colleague,
I write about an urgent matter: the the regional government of Rome, Italy (the Regione Lazio) is giving serious consideration to a plan to create a new 400-acre garbage dump 700 meters from Hadrian's Villa, the World Heritage site near Tivoli. I know that many of you will find this incredible, but, alas, it is true.
A group of concerned scholars and cultural heritage professionals from North America and Europe has posted an online petition to express our strong opposition to the plan. In a few short days, we have gathered over 1,300 signatures. Below are listed some of the people who have already signed and whom you may know.
Articles are starting to appear in the Italian press about our petition, which is being cited with approval by the opposition forces in the battle. These include, among many others, the City of Tivoli and the Italian Ministry of Culture. CBS News has a nice segment about the story which you can view at: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500202_162-57349208/stink-raised-over-landfill-at-ancient-rome-site/
The decision about this irresponsible plan will soon be made. Time is short. Please follow the link below and add your name to our petition:
The Petition
We appeal to the Extraordinary Commissioner for Refuse of the Regione Lazio to reverse the decision to install a landfill for refuse at Corcolle-Villa Adriana-San Vittorino.
This is an area of immense cultural and natural value not only for Italy but for all of humanity.To speak only of the most obvious site that requires our watchful and eternal protection, we note that Hadrian's Villa is only a short distance from the proposed landfill. This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site is visited each year by hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world. It is unconscionable that it or its immediate surroundings should suffer degradation of the kind that the proposed landfill clearly represents. Local authorities have already made known their willingness to find an alternative solution. The Ministry of Cultural Property and Activities has also properly expressed its concern. We, the undersigned archaeologists, scholars, scientists, and members of the general public from all over the world now join with an increasingly large number of Italian citizens to raise our voices in protest of the project to create a landfill at Corcolle-Villa Adriana-San Vittorino. We hope that it is not too late for reason and a decent respect for the past to prevail.
This is an area of immense cultural and natural value not only for Italy but for all of humanity.To speak only of the most obvious site that requires our watchful and eternal protection, we note that Hadrian's Villa is only a short distance from the proposed landfill. This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site is visited each year by hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world. It is unconscionable that it or its immediate surroundings should suffer degradation of the kind that the proposed landfill clearly represents. Local authorities have already made known their willingness to find an alternative solution. The Ministry of Cultural Property and Activities has also properly expressed its concern. We, the undersigned archaeologists, scholars, scientists, and members of the general public from all over the world now join with an increasingly large number of Italian citizens to raise our voices in protest of the project to create a landfill at Corcolle-Villa Adriana-San Vittorino. We hope that it is not too late for reason and a decent respect for the past to prevail.
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