CRONOLOGIA DEGLI EVENTI DAL 1957 A OGGI

Palazzo dell'E.N.I. (1960-62).

"Propilei" dell'EUR (1961-65).

Area pedonale presso l'Arco di Costantino

Il filosofo romano Seneca in his teachings to Emperor Nero claimed that Ex malo bonum nullam provenit (nothing good comes out of bad things). St. Augustine of Hippo extensively discussed this issue in one of his sermons (LXI) and the saying ex malo bonum from that time has entered the common language to indicate that sometimes a negative event can carry positive consequences. In Italy the energy crisis, while severely damaging the economy, led to a rethinking of the role of private motoring. In the 1960s cars were the emperors of Rome. The statue of St. Paul at the top of Colonna Antonina seemed more an attendant keeping an eye on the cars parked in the square, than the vigorous preacher of a new faith. All the obelisks were surrounded by parking-lots and Colosseo was a gigantic roundabout. Shopkeepers opposed all attempts to create pedestrian areas. The energy crisis forced the government to forbid the use of private cars on Sundays and the Romans gradually rediscovered the beauty of their City. It was the beginning of a long process which has made it very difficult for motorists to venture into historical Rome: many streets have been closed, parking is extremely expensive, environmental laws forbid the access to cars not in line with anti-pollution requirements. The photo above shows one of the areas of Rome which was the worst affected by motoring: cars were parked even on the wide terrace of Tempio di Romolo e Venere and military parades went through Arco di Costantino. PS: the fake columns on the terrace were a temporary (2007) decoration for a party celebrating the Italian fashion designer Valentino.

Anno	Avvenimenti politici	Eventi a Roma
1974	A bomb kills 8 and wounds 90 at an anti-fascist meeting in Brescia. The Red Brigades, a far-left group, kidnap a judge in Genova. A bomb placed by a neo-fascist group kills 12 and injures 44 passengers of the Rome-Brenner Express. A referendum called by the Christian Democrats fails to cancel the divorce law.	The results of the referendum in Rome were particularly disappointing for the Christian Democrats and the Catholic Church: 67% of the Roman voters chose to retain the law (60% was the national average).
1976	The Lockheed bribery scandals bring to light that many politicians (including members of the cabinet) accepted bribes to favour the American company. The general elections show a great increase of the Communist Party which was not involved in the Lockheed scandals. Italy experiences a very high level of inflation.	The Communist Party becomes the largest party of Rome: Giulio Carlo Argan, an art historian is elected with the support of Communists and Socialists.
1977	The Red Brigades shoot several politicians, journalists and magistrates in the legs.	First Estate Romana: the Romans show they are not frightened by terrorism.
1978	The Red Brigades kidnap Moro, at the time President of the Christian Democratic Party. Four policemen escorting him are killed. After the government's refusal to enter negotiations, the Red Brigades kill Moro and leave his body in a car near Palazzo Cenci Bolognetti, the Christian Democrats' headquarters. Morte di Papa Paolo VI. Il nuovo papa, Cardinal Albino Luciani, sceglie di chiamarsi col nome dei suoi due predecessori e diventa Giovanni Paolo I. Muore dopo soli 33. The Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla becomes Pope Giovanni Paolo II, the first non-Italian pope since Papa Adriano VI. A law allows abortion during the first 90 days of pregnancy.	A ceremony celebrating Moro takes place in S. Giovanni in Laterano: in a very tense atmosphere Pope Paul VI delivers a moving homily; the family, who blames the government for having abandoned Moro, does not attend the ceremony, but a low key funeral at Torrita Tiberina, where the statesman had a countryside residence. Pope John Paul II gains an immediate popularity among the Romans with his first speech: with a smile he asks for their help in correcting his broken Italian and in doing so he makes an evident pronunciation mistake which makes everybody laugh.
1980	A National Health System providing free medical care and drugs to all citizen is introduced. A terrorist bombing at Bologna's Central Railway Station causes the death of 85 and injures more than 200. It is blamed on a neo-fascist terrorist group. While the terrorists show they cannot be contained by security measures, they also start to realize their political objectives are failing: the Red Brigades are unable to raise mass revolutions, while neo-fascist extremists discover that middle classes are not supportive of Law and Order/Iron Fist policies leading to authoritarian developments.	Neo-fascists and far-left groups continue to kill even in the very heart of Rome. At the University Vittorio Bachelet, a professor, is killed while talking with his assistant inside the Faculty. At the funerals one of his sons prays for his father's killers. He expresses the general view that the terrorists are just fanatics.

Palazzo della Esso Italiana (1978-80).

Air Terminal Ostiense.

The World Soccer Championship was the occasion for an unprecedented waste of public money because many facilities were enlarged or rebuilt. In Rome the government decided to establish a railway link between Rome and its airport near Fiumicino (ancient Porto). It was a link much needed in view of the ever growing number of passengers flying to Rome. It damaged however the interests of the taxi drivers, a very powerful guild. They used their electoral vote to support a party (at the time the Socialist one) and in this circumstance they made their voice heard. The railway link was based on just three trains per hour and with a gap of 30 minutes between two of them: it was soon evident the service did not meet the needs of businessmen in a hurry, while many tourists did not know about this new facility which was poorly advertised at the airport. A large Air Terminal was built at Ostiense, the departing railway station: it had check-in facilities and a mall of shops: these after a few months run out of business and closed: the use of the Air Terminal was discontinued a few years later. It now stands as a monument to the poor judgement and courage of Italian politicians. The building was designed by Gae Aulenti, an architect who had acquired an international reputation for her restructuring of the Parisian Gare d'Orsay, which turned the old railway station into a museum. Later on she worked at doing the same at Scuderie del Quirinale.

Anno	Avvenimenti politici	Eventi a Roma
1992	A Milan an investigation (eventually known as Mani Pulite - Clean Hands) starts into an alleged case of bribery involving a Socialist in charge of a historical home for the old. It gradually leads to discovering widespread corruption. Speculative attack against the Italian Lira; the government is forced to introduce additional taxes in a situation of emergency. The Sicilian Mafia kills two high magistrates and their escorts with explosive devices. All these events lead Italians to fear a collapse of the country: the blame is laid on the men in power.	The bribing system is not limited to Milan: officers of several public bodies are arrested for bribes associated with works at the University, at the Fiumicino Airport and with the administration of blocks of flats owned by State institutions.
1993	Mani Pulite finds that many politicians, including Bettino Craxi, are involved in corruptive practices. The situation is so difficult that Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Bank of Italy, is asked to lead an emergency cabinet. The electoral law is modified in an attempt to promote stable coalitions. The assumed godfather of the Sicilian Mafia is arrested and jailed for life.	The Socialist Mayor of Rome is forced to resign because a member of his team confesses to accepting bribes. An explosive device placed by the Sicilian Mafia damages the portico of S. Giorgio al Velabro. Elections for the Mayor of Rome see two opposed coalitions: one led by Gianfranco Fini leader of a neo-fascist party and the other by Francesco Rutelli supported by centre-left parties. Berlusconi makes his first political statement in support of Fini. Rutelli is the new Mayor of Rome.
1994	Berlusconi fonda un partito which gains many seats at the general elections: he leads a coalition cabinet with Lega Nord, a movement calling for the independency of northern Italy and with Fini's party. After a few months the coalition splits and Berlusconi resigns.	Viene rubato il Bambinello dell' Ara Coeli. Berlusconi sets his private Roman residence in Via dell'Anima (near S. Maria dell'Anima) and later on at Palazzo Grazioli.
1995	Fini "cleans" his party from its neo-fascist origin. Centre-left parties design as their candidate for premiership Romano Prodi, a university professor in Economics. A cabinet led by Lamberto Dini, a former Director of the Bank of Italy introduces significant changes to the pension system by reducing its benefits.	The construction of a mosque is completed. Prima Maratona di Roma.
1996	La coalizione guidata da Prodi vince le elezioni politiche.	S. Giorgio al Velabro is restored to its pristine appearance.
1998	Italy implements a tight budget policy and is accepted among the founding participants in the Euro, a common European Currency which will replace the national ones. A far-left party withdraws its support and the cabinet falls. Prodi in 1999 is appointed Chairman of the European Commission.	Palazzo Altemps, a fine Renaissance palace is open to the public; it houses the Ludovisi collection of ancient statues. The relocation of the collection is part of a wider program of improvements at Museo Nazionale Romano.

Ara Pacis Augustae

The demolitions carried out during the 1930s led to discovering some fragments of Ara Pacis Augustae. The altar celebrated the peace during the rule of Emperor Augustus and other parts of it had been found in the previous centuries. It was decided to reconstruct the altar and a building housing it was placed next to Mausoleo di Augusto. Over the years it became evident that the building (a sort of gigantic shop window) did not ensure appropriate protection from humidity and pollution. In 1995 the City of Rome decided to build a new container for Ara Pacis Augustae and a project by Richard Meier was selected. The completion of the building was stopped by a junior member of the Berlusconi government (who came back to power in 2001) and so a matter of technical/artistic judgement was thrown into the political arena. Notwithstanding the opposition of the national government, local authorities eventually managed to complete the new container in 2006. The local leaders of Berlusconi's alliance have promised that if ever they take power in Rome, they will pull it down.

Anno	Avvenimenti politici	Eventi a Roma
2000	Poor showing of the centre-left coalition at the regional elections.	Il Giubileo del 2000 attira a Roma folle immense di pellegrini. Angels and Demons, a novel by Dan Brown's portrays an unusual Rome. Chiesa di Dio Padre Misericordioso is among the churches built for the Jubilee. It was designed by Richard Meier.
2001	La coalizione guidata da Silvio Berlusconi vince le elezioni generali. Violenti scontri tra la polizia e i manifestanti al G8 di Genova.	At the local elections Rome confirms the centre-left majority.
2002	In 12 paesi europei viene introdotto l'Euro. Proposed labour laws at easing firing procedures are met with strong trade unions opposition. Eventually the government gives up its proposal.	Major rally at Circo Massimo against the proposed changes to firing procedures. Parco della Musica, a multi-function complex designed by Renzo Piano is completed.
2003	Italy sends 3,000 troops as peacekeeping force in southern Iraq; a suicide bombing kills 20 Italians.	(Feb.) Major rally against the war. (Oct.) First Roman Sleepless Night.
2005	Morte di Papa Giovanni Paolo II. Il suo successore, il Cardinale Joseph Ratzinger, sceglie di chiamarsi Benedetto XVI.	Funerary ceremonies see the participation of immense crowds (see a page on the papal transition).
2006	La coalizione di centro-sinistra guidata da Romano Prodi vince di poco le elezioni politiche.	Crowds cheer the Italian Soccer Team after they win the World Championship.

Elezioni politiche del 2006: manifesti che ringraziano i Romani per i loro voti.

Alla fine delle Elezioni Politiche del 2006 tutti erano felici: quelli della coalizione vincente (Prodi) perché non avevano fatto poi così ranto per tornare al potere; quelli della coalizione perdente (Berlusconi) perché avevano perso non tanto quanto gli exit poll avevano predetto: così nessun leader di partito pensò che fosse giunto il momento di ritirarsi. 12 partiti avevano rappresentanti eletti alla Camera dei Deputati, ma essi rappresentavano ben 18 partiti politici perché in vista delle elezioni alcuni partiti si erano uniti: due di essi brigarono assai per ottenere lo 0.7% dei voti e tuttavia i loro leader non pensarono minimamente di rassegnare le dimissioni. Tale situazione era stata favorita dal governo uscente, in predicato di perdere le elezioni, proprio per impedire alla coalizione di Prodi di poter governare, ma aveva radici antiche nella tradizione nazionale di divisione anziché di unità. * * * Alla fine di questa Storia è bello ricordare ai lettori che secondo una leggenda la Città durerà fintantoché un grano d'oro sarà visibile sul bronzo della statua dell'Imperatore Marco Aurelio. Come si vede dall'immagine usata come sfondo di questa pagina, Roma non è certo alla fine della sua storia.