Alfa Romeo's centenary
celebrations were plunged into disarray on the opening
day as Milanese former workers blocked the gates to the
official museum at Arese in protest at the brand linking
the event to its birth city, which today it retains no
connection with. Born exactly 100 years ago yesterday in
Milan, as "A.L.F.A." (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica
Automobili), and interpreting the city's coat of arms as
its badge, once the giant factories at Portello and then
Arese simply poured Alfa Romeo's history history through
their gates. Today though they are gone, the only
slender thread remaining between Alfa Romeo and the city
is the official museum which too has the axe hovering
over it.Alfa
Romeo chose to return to Italy's undisputed fashion
capital, Milan, to honour its birthplace but more than a
hundred vocal members of the
Cobas SLAI (Sindacato
Lavoratori Autorganizzati Intercategoriali) self-organised
union gathered round an old Fiat Ducato van with
banners, flags, megaphones, music, singing and chanting
and blocked the gates for a time, telling the thousands
of Alfisti that had come from as far away as Germany,
the Netherlands, France and the UK, in modern to vintage
cars that they were trampling on an "industrial
graveyard."
"We want to show that
the celebrations are in what is now an industrial graveyard,
where all workers are moved or laid off," said Renato Parimbelli, of Cobas SLAI.
"It's also a demonstration against the agreement at Pomigliano [d'Arco], because the
history of the factory in Arese was marked by dozens of promises never kept and
by
blackmail from Fiat."The
enthusiasts along with local police looked on in the
warm sunshine, unable to gain access. It was a sting in
the tail to the start of the celebrations eerily
reminiscent of the launch of the new Alfa 147-replacing
Giulietta last year. Then Alfa Romeo had named the model
as the "Milano" but just 72 hours before it was due to
be presented the name was abandoned and the Giulietta
tag hurriedly substituted after protests from former
Alfa Romeo workers in Milan. Once the programme at the
museum got underway yesterday it was described by many
as an
amateurish undertaking at best, and although technically
independent, there was no input from Alfa Romeo
management during the day. Meanwhile FLMUniti-Cub has eschewed the
official celebrations and instead set up a photographic
exhibition charting the 100 years history of the brand
in the former factory.
Tomorrow, as part of
the centenary celebrations that will run until June 27
and will also take in a visit to the Monza race track, a
statue will be inaugurated in the city, a bronze
sculpture that was inspired by the legendary 1900 "Disco
Volante" sports car from 1952. Curiously the location
chosen for the sculpture is outside the south doors of
the "Fiera Milano" complex. The sculpture has been
donated by the Registro Italiano Alfa Romeo (RIAR).
It was designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo in
collaboration with Italian artist Agostino Bonalumi with
a base created by the architects Monica Mariani and
Claudio Lo Passo and features a plaque that tells the
intertwining story of the century-old Italian carmaker
and RIAR, a non-profit organisation founded in 1962 and
which has been recognised by Alfa Romeo for nearly fifty
years. Bring the work to life was carried out in
conjunction with "Il Cigno GG Edizioni Roma", an Italian
company that specialises in realising monuments devised
by famous artists worldwide.
Each year RIAR
organises events across Italy and abroad that tell the
amazing story of Alfa Romeo is the shape of a
"travelling museum". At the base of the sculpture is a
sealed container with the names of all those who
contributed to the project. Meanwhile a run of 1/43
scale replicates of the work will be given to
enthusiasts taking part this weekend, and a special run
of 100 units of a 1/10 scale version, also crafted out
of bronze will be sold complete with a special edition
book entitled "Un Monumento per uno Stile" that tells
the story of the realisation of the statute by Centro
Stile Alfa Romeo.
