Culture

Rome's Capitoline Museums almost empty during reopening

Rome, May 19 (EFE) .- (Camera: Jorge Ortiz) The sculpture of the Capitoline Wolf in Rome, emblem of the city, seems lonely in the Capitoline Museums after more than two months of closure due to the pandemic. But Tuesday marks the day of its reopening, a day in which only a few people walked the galleries, aware of the exceptional nature of this "new normal" without tourists.FOOTAGE OF THE CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS. SOUNDBITES AND TRANSLATIONS OF:MARIA VITTORIA MARINI CLARELLI, SUPERINTENDENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE:"Clearly we have to go back to war years to remember a closure like this one. It is very exciting for all of us to start again, the Capitoline Museums were opened to the public in 1734. They are the first public museum, not only in Rome, but worldwide from a chronological point of view and therefore they are symbolic also in this sense. Reopening a museum is a bit of an invitation to all museums to reopen, cautiously, gradually, hoping not to have to close again.”"Yes, from the point of view of visitors they are great but we can say that they are also instructive. If citizens re-appropriate their museums in all the cities where they reopen with this limit, with fewer tourists, I think it is a unique opportunity to be able to enjoy them directly, to feel like patrons of their own cultural heritage. I also believe that this will make tourism return with new bases, more cultural and conscious.”"We do not know. Let's say we have opened anyway. We will see what will happen, we will also see if tourists will be more cautious. In any case, we are prepared and we also think that in summer there will be more people than in the past years, there is this chance. (Now) It is a good time to come because you will see them without the crowd ”. ALESSANDRO POLLACI, VISITOR OF THE MUSEUM:“They are very beautiful museums, the oldest in the world and they house a lot of extraordinary things. Today was a chance to see them empty, an occasion that I think is unrepeatable, I hope it is."“I must say that it is very nice to see it (the city) like this, especially in the past days when there was practically no one on the street. A special situation, also with very good weather. We can say the coronavirus has had a positive side, if you want to find one.”