Italian State Council Overturns Rome Mayor's Appeal, Colosseum Archaeological Park to Proceed

Italy's Council of State definitively rejected the appeal filed by Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi and her deputy Luca Bergamo against the establishment of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. The decision, issued on July 24, 2017, overturned two previous rulings by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) that had blocked the park's creation and the appointment of five museum directors. The park, covering 78 hectares including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and Domus Aurea, was a key part of Culture Minister Dario Franceschini's reform granting administrative autonomy to 30 national museums and archaeological sites. The Council of State ruled that the Ministry of Cultural Heritage had the legal authority to establish the park without consulting the city, that the international public selection for a director-manager was lawful, and that revenue sharing (30% to the Superintendence for other Roman sites, 50% to the park, 20% to a national solidarity fund) was appropriate. Franceschini announced the appointment of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to the park's board of directors. The competition for a park director is expected to conclude by January 2018. Visitor numbers to the Colosseum rose 12.5% in the first half of 2017 compared to 2016, with revenue up 10.98%. The ruling marks a victory for the Ministry and a setback for the Raggi administration, which had argued the park would strip resources from the city.