The Utopia concert of rapper Travis Scott has pushed hundreds of concerned Roman citizens to call the fire department, worrying there might have been an earthquake. As a result, the director of the head of the Colesseum Archaeological Park has started a campaign to ban artists from performing at the Circus Maximus monument following the loud concert Scott heels last week.
According to CNN, the head of Colesseum Archaeogfical Park, Alfonsina Russo, has called to end performances at this monument, following the performance of rapper Travis Scott. “Astroworld Festival”, the last show of the entertainer, which was held in 2021, ten people died, with the youngest being nine years old.
“The Circus Maximus is a monument. It is not a stadium, not a concert hall. These mega rock concerts put it at risk, including the Palatine Hill nearby. Rock concerts should be held in stadiums so as not to endanger public safety,” Russo told Italian news service AGI.
Italy is a very popular tourist destination in general and mass tourism is threatening the country’s historical monuments. UNESCO previously warned that Venice is in danger due to over-tourism. More specifically, the organisation protecting historical sites has put the Italian town on the danger list.
Statista data show that before COVID-19, Venice used to receive millions of visitors – 5.5 million in 2019 alone while the town was growing in popularity as the number of tourist arrivals kept rising consistently since 2003, when 2.7 million visitors were recorded.
“I work in Venice, and I see how the city is treated every morning and how many people there are when I leave work. Venice can’t be respected if there are too many people. The situation never changes,” says Vanessa di Bernardo, a local waitress.
On the other hand, Massimo Caccari, the former mayor of Venice has called UNESCO “one of the most expensive, useless bodies on the face of the earth”, implying the lack of importance of such news.
Millions of tourists that visit Italy all year, have also impacted the country’s infrastructure and the quality of life among residents. In an effort to protect Italy and to establish more respectful tourism, Italian authorities have introduced several measures as well as rules for which unruly tourists can be fined up to €300.
More specifically, tourists are no longer allowed to walk barefoot around the centres, cannot take pictures at popular attractions or sit on sidewalks. Next year, it is expected an entry fee to Venice to be applied, as well as limitations on daily visitors. Back in 2019, the city received 5.5 million visitors – almost 100 times more than the Venetian population.
