Una nota di Bill Cook spiega come l'allegoria sia universale d simbolica anche oggi
PRAGA. On October 7 in Prague, I attended Forum 2000, an annual meeting that discusses democracy and how to spread, preserve, and improve it. The keynote was given by four young people who have been tireless advocates of democratic principles in countries whose governments do not much like what they are doing. One was a young woman, a Muslim, from Azerbaijan. She was asked to speak about the kind of government she desires for her country and its people. She explained that the best way to understand what she envisions for Azerbaijan is seen in the Allegory of Good Government in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico. Then she explained the iconography.
I practically wept. How often have I shown that fresco in our beloved Palazzo to students from the US and China? If anyone wonders why “noi Senesi” are so passionate about our city, this is the answer. It contains tradition and wisdom for the ages and of universal value. Imagine a 21 st -century Muslim woman from the Caucasus using a 675-year old fresco in a city hall in the Christian city of Siena, Italy to explain to people what a just government is.
Sometimes I want to change the word “ bella ” in our city’s song to “importante.”
Bill Cook
