Italy's culture minister, Gennaro
Sangiuliano, is drawing flak for the latest in a string of
alleged gaffes, having claimed that Christopher Columbus
"circled the globe on the basis of the theories of Galileo
Galilei", the great scientist and astronomer who was born more
than 50 years after the Genoese explorer died.
Columbus discovered the New World in 1492 and died in 1506,
while Galileo was born in 1564.
Opposition parties are calling for Premier Giorgia Meloni to
sack the minister, who recently revealed her had voted for
Strega Book Prize entries without having read them and also
placed TImes Square in London.
"Doesn't Meloni feel any shame about him?" asked Green leader
Angelo Bonelli, adding "I'd gift him a history book but he
doesn't read", while the 5-Star Movement said "Sangiuliano is
circumnavigating the world with his ignorance", adding "what has
Italy, a country known all over the world for its culture, done
wrong to have a culture minister like Gennaro Sangiuliano, who
is collecting gaffe after gaffe, and whose ineptitude is a
constant stain on Italian culture".
Sangiuliano is a heavyweight in Meloni's rightwing Brothers of
Italy (FdI) party.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
