WFFM Chronicle Nine cultuml associatiom in Floiencefight to halt the deteiiomtion of their city Raflaello Ton-icelli II

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‘It is time to stop complaining and do something!’ Comparing the Florence of the now distant past and the city as it is today, overwhelmed by so many problems brought about by contempo- rary life, the Friends of the Museums of Florence, along with the inhabitants of this city, felt that it was time to react energetically to this deeply trouhiing and desperate situation.

And so they hecame the instigators of a revolt which has also heen joined by other cultural inovements. For some months now, representatives of nine ciiiturai associations have been meeting to study a programine of action for the safeguarding of Florence and its cultural heritage. These associations are: the Friends of the Museums of Florence; the Association of Historic Homes; the UNESCO Centre of Florence; Firenze Viva; Florentia Mater; the Italian Fund for the Environment; the Garden Cluh; the Italiün institute of Castles; and Italia Nostra.

A co-ordiiiating committee has been set up between these associations for the purpose of attracting more participants for both the joint projects and specific activities with similar objec- tives. The public flocked to the Medici Palace for the first gathering organized by the Committee on 28 September 1990 - a dehate on the topic: ‘The Deterioration of Florence: Ideas for a Programme of Action’.

The manifesto distributed hy the Committee to all participants and the city at large sets out the most important points on which a11 the associations promoting the project are agreed. The programme proposes, first of all, meetings with the officials from civic and religious authorities who are responsible for the cultural heritage. in addition, member associations iuve split up the programine of action among themselves in order to speed up and simplify achievement of the proposed ohjectives.

And so the Friends of the Museums of Florence are committed to a series of initiatives designed to restore the city’s former dignity, provide hetter facilities for visitors and ensure easier access to the city’s historical monuments.

The Firenze Viva association has set up a service that citizens can use to report any defacement or damage to the city’s monuments.

The Association of Historic Homes has volunteered to organize an exhibition on Florentine palazzo courtyards and to make these more easily accessible to the public.

A competition awarding a prize for the hest shop decoration and window display in a variety of different categories lias heen planned and will be publicized.

With initiatives like these - and others that will he organized in the future - the Florence Committee hopes to arouse a positive response among the local inhabitants, so that everything can he done to halt the deterioration of Florence and the loss of its cultural

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identity in the eyes of the world.

Mirseiini (LINESCO. Paris). No. 174 (Vol. XLIV, No. 2, 1992)