Fuortes named commissioner of Verona

(ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - Culture Minister Dario Franceschini on Friday appointed Rome Opera Superintendent Carlo Fuortes commissioner of Verona's Arena amphitheatre. He will be in the job free of charge for several months while continuing to work in Rome. Franceschini described Fuortes as a "cultural manager who has already handled with great professionalism and effectiveness the crisis situation of the Rome Opera". The Arena in Verona, an ancient Roman site refurbished for modern events, has been going through management and cash problems for some time. Last week it was announced that the opera company that stages concerts and shows at Verona's ancient Roman arena is going to be put into liquidation by the Verona Arena Foundation.
    The move followed a rejection by workers of a cost-cutting agreement signed by the foundation and trade unions.
    Workers voted against accepting the deal, with 132 votes against and 130 in favour.
    Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi said that the next opera season was not at risk on the way out of the meeting at which the foundation decided to put the company into liquidation.
    But he added that "the reckless decision of the workers will entail the scrapping of all the jobs".
    A tender inviting Italian and foreign firms to bid to cover Verona's famous Arena was issued in English and Italian in February.
    The removable roof will be used to make sure events do not have to be cancelled because of rain.
    The Calzedonia Group is supporting the project with 100,000 euros.
    The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in the central Piazza Bra, built in the first century AD.
    It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there.
    It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind.
    In ancient times, nearly 30,000 people was the housing capacity of the Arena.
    Nowadays, for security reasons, the maximum attendance is of 15,000 people.