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“Piazza Pia? It will never be ready for the start of the Jubilee.” For months, this was the mantra of taxi drivers and residents, worried about the slow progress of construction in the symbolic site of the Holy Year. And yet, the new pedestrian area and the underground passage for cars were completed on time, despite delays caused by exceptional archaeological findings in the excavation area.
And what about the shop owners on via Ottaviano? The protest against the construction became viral, with the mayor responding: ‘Protest for work done at our expense. We’re making a living room for you.’ And these same shopkeepers rejoiced a few days ago for the new pedestrian street, crowded with citizens and tourists at all hours for Christmas shopping.
After the criticism for alleged delays and the crazy traffic due to the numerous construction sites, Gualtieri has entered the season of ‘unwrapping’. Slowly but steadily, the city is starting to reopen monuments and spaces that were closed, kept ‘wrapped up’ for months due to the works for the Holy Year. The historic fountains are reopening, Trevi Fountain above all, and soon the new piazza San Giovanni and piazza dei Cinquecento at Termini will be inaugurated (although only a part). And throughout 2025, more works will be completed, in line, for now, with the latest schedule established in the decree signed last June.
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Has the Mayor of Rome won the challenge then? It is still too early to pass judgment. What is certain, however, is that after months of attacks from all sides, the mayor can now begin to respond with concrete results. Which, for the moment, seem to be appreciated even by the Romans.
It is no coincidence that, precisely during the first inaugurations, Fratelli d’Italia launched an attack on the center-left administration with a campaign of posters. The electoral battle for the center-right ahead of 2027 has just begun (Fabio Rampelli is rumored to be a mayoral candidate, but the rumor has been denied), but Gualtieri can respond with the inaugurations and ‘unwrappings’.
If he does indeed win the battle for public transport, the mayor’s chances of re-election could increase even further. In the course of 2025, the arrival of new metro trains and the completion of operations on those still in circulation are expected. stadiums, Roma and Lazio, waste-to-energy plant, and public transport: after the era of inaugurations and the Holy Year, these will be the issues on which Gualtieri will stake his future.
I have been a professional journalist since 2015 and I cover Rome’s news on Fanpage.it. I have interned at Repubblica.it, Radio Radicale, founded and directed the web radio ‘Radio Libera Tutti’, and became a freelance journalist in 2010, collaborating with the local weekly ‘Velletri Oggi’.
