Rome's car-parking chaos sparks "barbarian" debate

By Stephen Brown

ROME (Reuters) - Visitors leaving Rome with anecdotes of cars parked on zebra crossings, blocking pavements or two abreast on narrow streets would probably think the locals would welcome plans for a giant new carpark.

But this is Italy, where the calmest of conversations looks like a row, and debate between conservationists and modernizers over a carpark on an ancient hillside has escalated into a raging debate with both sides calling each other "barbarians".

Some of the biggest names in Italian culture and politics -- film director Franco Zeffirelli, pop star Adriano Celentano and centre-left opposition leader Walter Veltroni -- are involved.

In a city that is effectively an open-air museum, bulldozers starting public works are almost always halted by archaeologists hailing the discovery of yet another ancient ruin.

Pincio hill is a Neoclassical terraced garden designed by Giuseppe Valadier in the early 19th century astride 1st Century BC ruins that conservationists have dubbed a "Secret Pompeii".

City hall chose Pincio two years ago for a seven-storey, 726-space carpark to allow the narrow streets between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna -- one of Europe's poshest shopping districts -- to be reserved for pedestrians.

In a city whose drivers American travel writer Bill Bryson said "park their cars the way I would park if I had just spilled a beaker of hydrochloric acid in my lap", there is a clear need for more orderly parking and more public transport.

The debate essentially forces Romans to choose between their passion for cars -- Italy has one of highest densities of car ownership in the world -- and pride in their ancient culture.