IOSA.it Open Archaeology

I just landed in Rome, and I've learned from the news that Alberto Ronchey passed away some days ago. He was ministry of Cultural Heritage during the 1990s with 2 different Italian Governments, but that's only the most known thing he did in a long career as a journalist and writer. His name is strongly tied to a bill that still brings his name (Legge Ronchey), about the introduction of private commercial activities in State-owned museums and archaeological areas. While disputed for some years, this bill is nevertheless of paramount importance for the whole Italian heritage ecosystem, and played a key role in the development of cultural heritage into a commercially exploitable field (albeit an oligopoly, one might dare to say), even though the role of the State is still vital.