Monumental Externalities In Italy

Monumental Externalities:

Introduction:

Italy as the worlds 5th most visited destination and with 50 Unesco World Heritage Sites (the most of any country) is a tourism powerhouse. Over 47 million people visited the country last year accounting for 10.3% of GDP and giving a much needed boost to an exhausted economy slowly emerging from it’s longest recession since World War 2. An obvious effect of Italy’s mass tourism is the sheer number of people packed into its most popular historic sites and the externalities this creates. Tourists flock to Italy to sample it’s rich cultural heritage and array of attractions however they can also “love the environment to death” impairing the very things that attract them. In this essay I intend to examine

The Colosseum is Italy’s national icon and receives over 4 million tourists a year. Ironically it’s these same tourists who are also damaging the structure. The sheer weight of that much footfall has damaged the buildings foundations and flooring. Upper tiers have had to be closed off to the public and the most widely trampled areas replaced with alternative flooring. This is bound to happen when an old structure is subjected to so much passing traffic. The constant flow of people can also result in falling masonry which although mainly attributable to weathering it certainly doesn’t help preservation.

A busy ring road circles the monument, allowing easy access for the thousands of cars, taxis and tour buses which make the journey each year. Over the years this constant traffic and air pollution from vehicles has covered the exterior in a thick layer of black and grimy soot, which covers the façade. This dirt diminishes the experience for locals and tourists alike, taking away from the monuments aesthetic

What can be done to solve these issues? Let’s now investigate some of the potential private ownership solutions. Sustainable…………………….

In the case of tourism there is strong opposition to private ownership solutions. Yet when private ownership is introduced it allows an efficient outcome to be obtained, as the private owner has an interest in maximizing the present and future value thus they encourage conservation. When private ownership is introduced access to monuments generally but not always requires payment to the owner.

In 2009 Rome began seeking private funding to help finance the Colleseum’s upkeep. Although it generates over 28 million euros a year it only receives 2 million in funding. The remainder is spread across the rest of the cities monuments.

Of Rome’s 30 major monuments only 11 charge entrance fees and just 0.18% of Italian GDP is spent on culture. Clearly if these externalities are to be resolved the private sector is crucial as the public sector is failing its duty of