Syria: Splendor and Drama, in Rome

Splendor and Drama is not your regular exhibition. It is an event that marks the first milestone in raising global awareness of the destruction of the country’s cultural heritage in the ongoing conflict.

The exhibition, which runs until August 31 at Palazzo Venezia in Rome, focuses on the damage already suffered and the risk of further destruction of the many remnants of Syria’s Islamic and Christian past, such as the Roman ruins of Ebla and Palmyra, or the Aleppo citadel.

“Everyone agrees that culture is worth today more than ever – and yet they keep paying lip service to it without doing anything. Down to facts, culture is constantly downsized and, what is worst, everyone is standing still in front of the devastation of a place that has been the cradle of 5,000 years of civilisation,” says Francesco Rutelli, a former culture and tourism minister and former mayor of Rome, who as head of the Priorità Cultura association has been promoting the initiative.

“Today in Syria, we are facing the catastrophic destruction of an un-repeatable legacy, one that comprises monuments, archaeological sites, mosques, churches and historical centres of priceless value,” Rutelli says. “Nonetheless, the reaction of the international community has been even more frustrating: silence and indifference, a sort of resignation, where all the issues in tackling the political crisis and military developments also drove to the abandonment of culture.”

The exhibition features more than 20 works from some of Italy’s largest museums, all serving to throw light on the civilisations that have prospered in Syria. Rutelli is hoping action will be taken soon.

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Syria: Splendor and Drama, in Rome