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 City hall is paralyzed by allegations of Mafia infiltration, basic
services are in tatters, the main airport is partially closed, and
wild cat strikes have frayed an already ropey public transport
network.
For generations, the Italian capital has rested on past glories
rather than built on them. The years of neglect, corruption and
bureaucratic bungling have taken a fierce toll, reflecting a wider
malaise that afflicts Italy as a whole.
"Rome is on the verge of collapse," Giancarlo Cremonesi, the
president of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters. "It is
unacceptable that a major city which calls itself developed can find
itself in such a state of decay."
One of the 10 biggest cities in Europe, with a population of 2.8
million, Rome boasts some of the most spectacular squares,
fountains, museums and churches in the world.
But like its ancient monuments, its problems are plain for all to
see, starting at the main international gateway into the city,
Fiumicino, Italy's largest airport, which is struggling to bounce
back from a fire that broke out on May 7.
Although the blaze was confined to just part of one of its three
terminals, more than two months later, 40 percent of all flights
still have to be canceled each day because of a dispute over the
danger posed by contaminants unleashed by the flames.
Magistrates sealed the site for weeks to gauge the air quality,
while various public bodies argued over how airports should be
classified when it came to measuring pollution.
"In this case you see many things that are typically Italian. For
example the role of the magistrates," Vito Riggio, the head of the
Italian Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters.
All the fire-damaged material should have been immediately removed
to speed up the rebuilding, he said.
"Instead the place was officially sealed. Nobody could enter and the
source of the (contaminants) continued to pollute. It is not hard to
grasp, but no one said anything, not even the government. I don't
believe other countries are like that."
The prosecutors' office dealing with the case said the sequestration
order was lifted on June 24 and there was no legal impediment
preventing a return to normal operations, although its investigation
continues.
No date has been set for a full re-opening and the smell of burnt
plastics lingers in the departures halls.
MAFIA MESS
A much larger investigation has engulfed Rome city hall, housed in a
Renaissance palace designed by Michelangelo and gazes out across the
ruins of the ancient Roman forum.
The "Mafia Capital" probe, which hit the headlines last December
following a first wave of arrests, has rattled Italy, suggesting
that organized crime was flourishing far beyond its traditional
southern bastions.
Buried under 14 billion euros ($15.5 billion) of debt, Rome was
saved from bankruptcy last year by emergency state funds. The mafia
scandal has helped explain the financial mess, with wiretap
transcripts suggesting mobsters had siphoned off millions of euros
from a string of lucrative contracts, covering everything from
recycling paper to sheltering immigrants.
 Italy is struggling to shake off its worst post-World War Two slump,
a three-year slide that has driven unemployment up to 1970s levels.
While the real economy plunged, the illegal one, such as that
unmasked in Rome, has spread and thrived.
Much of the alleged corruption dates back to the time of the
previous mayor, Gianni Alemanno, a former right-wing minister who is
under investigation. He denies any wrong-doing.
However, magistrates say the mobsters' tentacles have also delved
into the current administration, run by Ignazio Marino, a liver
transplant surgeon and an ally of center-left Italian Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi.
While Marino is not implicated, a number of his staff have come
under scrutiny, leading to a stream of resignations. A city source
says an official review has recommended that around 30 major public
contracts be annulled and re-offered for tender.
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In a letter to Corriere della Sera newspaper, published on Monday,
mayor Marino conceded that much of Rome's public administration was
"substantially rotten".
But, in the same way that Renzi was trying to change Italy with a
battery of reforms, so he was looking to shake up sclerotic Rome, he
said. "There is strenuous resistance to any type of change (here)
... but I will never give up," he wrote.
With grass running wild by the kerbsides and graffiti spreading like
garish vines along buildings, Marino this month put together a
500-strong taskforce of employees and volunteers to help clean up
Rome's neglected green spaces.
"Rome is falling apart at the seams," the city's main newspaper, Il
Messaggero, lamented on its frontpage last week. On an inside page
it reported a rat infestation in the center.
A 2013 European Commission survey placed Rome last out of 28 EU
capitals in the rankings for the efficiency of city services.
Despite its fine cuisine and sunny climate, Rome came second to last
for quality-of-life satisfaction. Athens was bottom.
Rome also came last when it came to satisfaction with public
transport. This summer's chaos will not have improved sentiment.
RUBBISH AND PICKPOCKETS
Metro drivers have staged a series of go-slows to protest at a new
norm requiring them to clock into work. The mayor says this is
needed to boost productivity, arguing that while drivers in Milan
work 1,200 hours a year, in Rome they put in 730 hours.
The dispute has led to delays of up to 25 minutes between trains,
leaving stranded passengers sweltering in the hottest July for more
than a decade and fuelling anger on Internet protest sites like
'Rome Sucks' (Roma Fa Schifo).
Rome is the most popular tourist destination in the country,
attracting some 10.61 million foreign visitors in 2014. This was
down from more than 11 million the year before and locals say the
poor state of infrastructure is hurting.
"All my clients say Rome is beautiful, but all of them, without
fail, complain about the services," said Marcello Lazazzera, who
owns a small bed and breakfast, Domus Cornelia.
"The metros never arrive on time, the stations are full of
pickpockets, the streets are full of rubbish. Instead of getting
better, the situation is getting worse."
It could get worse still in 2016, when 25 million pilgrims are
expected to flow into the Eternal City in response to Pope Francis's
call for an extraordinary Holy Year -- one of the Roman Catholic
Church's most important events.
The mayor's office has yet to layout its strategy for coping with
the influx, or earmark any funds to cover the cost.
"The prayers of the pope will not be enough. Here we need a miracle
from the lord above for Rome to emerge in good shape," said Chamber
of Commerce chief, Cremonesi.
(Additional reporting by Stefano Bernabei Writing by Crispian
Balmer; Editing by Paul Taylor)
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