Over the objections of conservationists and possibly of local planning officials, a German developer is building a 60-metre high Ferris wheel in a parking lot overlooking the ruins of Pompeii.
The giant wheel is well advanced in construction, and operators say it will open on May 8, though the local mayor’s office told local newspapers that “we need to run checks over a month before we give planning permission.” The company says it has a contract signed last year and has options to operate next year as well as this.
The archaeological site, run by the Italian state, says it was not informed about the plans and has requested more information from local planners. Pompeii is drawing more visitors than ever before, around 3.5 million a year, as excavations continue. It is one of Italy’s most-visited sites.
The head of Italy’s Cultural Heritage Observatory, Antonio Irlando, told newspapers that the wheel violates “the cultural values of the archaeological area” and intrudes on the buffer zone set up to protect the excavations.
The promoters pooh-pooh the idea, saying that it is just “another attraction at an attraction,” and will let visitors “admire the whole panorama of the ancient city of Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius and the whole Gulf of Naples.”
Either way, it appears to be a fait accompli.
