Rome, 3 May (LaPresse) – “As far as I’m concerned, the Venice chapter is closed; it’s now entirely in the hands of Palazzo Chigi.” So says Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, who, in an interview with *La Repubblica*, takes stock of the Venice Art Biennale following the dispatch of Ministry of Culture commissioners last week in the wake of the Russian pavilion affair. On his friendship with the Foundation’s president, Pietrangelo Pietrangelo, Giuli clarified: “He is a wayward brother, but a wayward brother remains a brother. He fell victim to a fantasy of peacemaking; he wanted the UN of art, and ended up deluding himself that he could conduct foreign policy. But that is the responsibility of the government and Parliament.” Tomorrow, according to the newspaper, the minister will forward the report of the inspection sent to the Biennale last Wednesday to the Prime Minister’s Office. Is there a possibility of the Biennale being placed under administration? “That has never been on the table. There is no reason to destabilise the situation. Buttafuoco is not a martyr of jihad; he is my dear Ciccio Tumeo,” continues Giuli, who believes that “the Venice-based foundation is not a sovereign state; Buttafuoco must have got confused. By constantly demanding autonomy, he has effectively placed himself under administration.”
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