“My diary? A disaster, I missed an event with Mattarella»- Corriere.it

Vittorio Sgarbi undersecretary for culture, mayor of Sutri, councilor for culture of nearby Viterbo, promayor of Urbino, commissioner for the arts of Codogno, president of the Ferrara art foundation, of the Mart of Trento, of the Mag of Riva del Garda and of the Canova’s Gypsotheca . Also: on tour for a show on Caravaggio and now they’ve even elected him as a regional councilor in Lombardy.

Professor, you have at least 10 charges, but some are sure to escape us. Do you have 48 hour days?

(loud laughter, ed) a continuous overlapping of phone calls and meetings, many important and sometimes casual. Today I dealt with a problem for a hotel in Naples, then with a painting from the Uffizi, disputes with the superintendents and I answered at least 50 phone calls.

true that only sleeps from 5 to 10 in the morning?

Yes, true, because at a certain point in the night people stop bothering me… Then I finally have time to start reading and thinking. Then in the morning there is hellish traffic. At work nobody does anything until 11 and then I take the opportunity to rest.

What is his secret: a special diet, alcohol?

I only drink carbonated water and lambrusco. I suggested to Berlusconi, who was a teetotaler, to taste this fabulous wine. He liked it and so he drinks it from time to time. When you journalists learned that the Knight had received a case of vodka from Putin and
he reciprocated by sending him a case of Lambrusco…
Well: for this reason.

Who sacrifices himself to manage his agenda?

badly handled by my assistants (laughs, but this time quite irritated, ed). Sometimes I meet the President of the Republic by chance, other times I miss an appointment like the memory of Gerardo Bianco: it just happened and Mattarella was there.

How is that possible?

Eh, my assistants told me the wrong place to go. Don’t make me think I’m getting angry again. My agenda allows for great imagination.

But how often do you go to be mayor of Sutri, a small village in Tuscia?

In Sutri I replaced the role of mayor with that of patron saint: when I arrive there they prepare a catafalque, I make a procession of meetings and then they also set off the fireworks.

Does it get rich with all these jobs?

No, because the more jobs you have, the less money you make. All the presidencies of cultural bodies are free of charge. My spending review: “doing a lot, taking less”. MPs don’t do much and, apart from those two days a week in the Chamber, they could be useful in other roles.

Wouldn’t it be better to do less things, but better? Do your detractors dispute your conflicts of interest?

But let them go…..

Now state
also elected regional councilor in Lombardy.
And he will have to resign due to incompatibility with the post of undersecretary. Are you a little sorry?

That I resign all to see. Those are marks won by me.

Are you going on vacation?

Never. I never rest. There are no voids. Because you see, even if I went on vacation then I’d have to keep responding to everyone. And now excuse me: I’m busy.