Summary
This is not to deny that Italy is abnormally rich in culture, but it appears Italians care little for it. One of the few organisations dedicated to restoration in Italy is Fondo per l'Ambiente Italia, founded in 1975. But many people, including Guido Venturini, the director-general of TCI, argue it was all too little, too late. 'We are sitting in the most beautiful country in the world, but the Italians appear to be wholly unaware of it.' There is no equivalent of the National Trust.
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Extract
Smarter Than the Italians
Ask any European what he or she associates with the British and their answers may include beer, football, yobbishness, a troubled monarchy and slavish support for President Bush. One of the replies they will not give, however, is 'cultural life'. For it is indubitably true that we have, fairly or unfairly, the reputation as the Thick Man of Europe.
Our newspapers continually reinforce this notion with lightweight features on 'celebs' and mock horror tales about how few schoolchildren know who won the Battle of Trafalgar or who took part in the Batt...See the full content of this document
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