“Either I’ll have 50%, or I’ll leave” – ​​Corriere.it

He wouldn’t have minded a second term like mayor of Sutri (But the Meloni wanted to put one of his own – he sighs Vittorio Sgarbi – I couldn’t oppose my Prime Minister…). in fact, he remained so fond of the Viterbo village that he even returned a month ago to celebrate his seventieth birthday.

For the survivals of youth – as he calls them – they push him down towards exciting new adventuresnone of these for glory, fame or money and so here he is, three weeks ago, at the last administration, newly elected mayor of Arpino, birthplace of Marcus Tullius Cicero but also by Giuseppe Cesari, master of Caravaggio.

And in the name of the great Roman lawyer and philosopher, the Undersecretary for Culture of the Meloni government announces the forthcoming opening of a school of eloquence to teach politicians to speak.

But not only: strong of his 10 assignments (But with only one salary, I do the rest for free) also plans to promote a twinning between Arpino itself and the municipality of Urbino, where he was pro-mayor, to celebrate the figure of Pasquale Rotondi, the art historian native of Arpino who during the Second World War became the protagonist of Operation Rescue, securing in the Rocca di Sassocorvaro (in the province of Pesaro and Urbino) countless masterpieces. Not that it isn’t tiring, all this lavishness on him.

In fact, he does not hide that he has already decided not to do the municipal councilor in Latina for which he was also running (I resigned, he reveals). I will stay so alone too councilor for beauty of Viterbo, commissioner for the arts of Codogno, president of the Ferrara Arte Foundation, of the Mag of Riva del Garda, of the Gypsotheca of Canova and of the Mart of Trentohaving also been mayor of San Severino Marche and of Salemi and having instead had to leave the position of last month regional councilor of Lombardy due to incompatibility with the post of Undersecretary of Culture.

For the Arpino summer, now upon us, Sgarbi now wants to organize (as president) a film festival dedicated to Marcello Mastroianni, which was from Fontana Liri, a nearby town, still in Ciociaria. And there will also be a tribute to his brother, Umberto Mastroianni, the sculptor.

First, however, the undersecretary would like to have a satisfaction: in fact, he didn’t go down at all the affront suffered by an opposition adviser of Arpino, Niccol Casinelliaccording to which the art critic, with his 2,023 votes obtained out of 4,557 voters, i.e. 44.39%, would not enjoy the consent of the majority of citizensignoring however that in municipalities under 15,000 inhabitants today in Italy it works like this.

Sgarbi, however, used to winning big, now wants to call Arpinati back to the polls with a referendum (Let’s say a survey, nothing institutional, less cumbersome) to feel once and for all legitimized: If I get one vote in less than 50% of voters, I will resignhe promises.

Finally, a quip in his own way, the reserve for the dream-idea just expressed in the press conference by the new Rai general manager, Giampaolo Rossi, of making a cartoon on Gabriele D’Annunzio in the future.

Sgarbi is not enthusiastic: On D’Annunzio – he says – there is already the film made with Sergio Castellitto during the Covid (The Bad Poet), a masterpiece, I would send it immediately on the air.

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