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Europe | |
Who are the most cultured Europeans? | |
2005-02-19 | |
Official: Britons are most cultured Europeans Heh. The Italians have Michelangelo, the French Moliere and the Germans Beethoven. But, according to an Italian survey, the British - the beer-swilling, tabloid-reading, supposedly sports-crazy British - are more cultured than any of them. They go to more concerts, films, plays, galleries and libraries than almost anyone in Europe. They even manage to visit more ruins and monuments than the Italians. But the one area where they lag behind the other major nations of Europe is sport. More French, Italians and Spanish than British go to a course or stadium. But the British are sportier than the Germans and, proportionately, attendances are above the average for the former European Union of 15 states.
Italy's relatively low "cultural consumption" is a source of growing concern in a country that is renowned for its artistic riches. Guido Venturini, director general of the Touring Club Italiano, which carried out the survey, told the magazine Il Venerdi: "We are sitting in the most beautiful country in the world, but the Italians appear to be wholly unaware of it." Part of the problem is that Italy's stagnant economy has prompted the government to cut the budget of its culture ministry as well as to slash allocations to local authorities, which are responsible for many of festivals, libraries, museums and galleries. But it is also true that contemporary Italy's artistic output is modest. Trust the Guardian to claim that lack of government spending is at the root of the problem. They don't mention that the UK's heritage organisations are almost entirely funded by public donation and subscription... Antonio Paolucci, Florence's top arts official, said: "The next Michelangelo, if there ever is one, will certainly not be born in Italy, but rather China, or the US, or Brazil." Or perhaps even Basingstoke. | |
Posted by:Bulldog |
#10 LOL! Love it BE! |
Posted by: Shipman 2005-02-19 7:29:28 PM |
#9 BE: Send some pictures to art galleries in NY, you'll be getting letters back with offers to buy your kids work within a month. |
Posted by: Charles 2005-02-19 6:35:41 PM |
#8 Shipman : I am already way ahead of you on that! Artist : BigEric (age 4), son of BigEd Title : Dinothunder Media : Chalk on Concrete offset by Cat Dish! |
Posted by: BigEd 2005-02-19 4:42:37 PM |
#7 Official: Britons are most cultured Europeans I'm sure the Phrench will have something to say about this. |
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-19 3:30:00 PM |
#6 I think it's kinda derivative BE. Let the kid develope his own art. |
Posted by: Shipman 2005-02-19 3:17:36 PM |
#5 Watch out. The EU may have to start a program forcing Brits to become less cultured or at least to spend more of their money on continental cultural items such as German comedy and Italian drama, French golf or Spanish philosophers. |
Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-02-19 3:14:27 PM |
#4 Don't put it past my "Mini-Me"! He has been known to climb up a bookshelf and sit on top. Ceiling? No problem! |
Posted by: BigEd 2005-02-19 2:45:57 PM |
#3 Hey BigEd: sure, but can he build it on the ceiling ? |
Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2005-02-19 2:29:18 PM |
#2 Yeah, like it matters when half the population have teeth that could stop a fuckin' clock. Let the flamewar begin! |
Posted by: Raj 2005-02-19 12:42:47 PM |
#1 Antonio Paolucci, Florence’s top arts official, said: "The next Michelangelo, if there ever is one, will certainly not be born in Italy, but rather China, or the US, or Brazil." Or perhaps even Basingstoke. Artist : BigEric (age 4), son of BigEd Title : Velociraptor Media : Lego |
Posted by: BigEd 2005-02-19 12:42:30 PM |