Italians Respond to Trump’s Davos Speech on the Dome in Florence

Jan. 23, 2020 (EIRNS)—President Trump’s reference to Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and Brunelleschi’s cupola in Florence, which the President referred to alternatively as “the Duomo” and “the Dome,” in his Jan. 21 address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, had a predictably large echo in Italy. All media highlighted it in their reports, with the usual polarization.

Former Prime Minister and former Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi tweeted: “Today in Davos President Trump mentioned #Firenze and the construction of its Cathedral as a model of great projects, dreams and ambitions. Proud to represent, in the Italian Parliament, the most beautiful city in the world.”

LaRouche activist Flavio Tabanelli produced a YouTube video posted on MoviSol, the Italian LaRouche movement website, juxtaposing a quote from Trump to an image of the Italian translation LaRouche’s book The Science of Christian Economy, that features the Cupola on its cover. The video clip shows Lyndon LaRouche at a July 21, 2011 webcast, explaining Brunelleschi’s genius in using the catenary for construction of the Cupola, followed in turn by a videoclip of Trump’s remarks in Davos. (See “Trump ha letto LaRouche! Trump e la cupola di Brunelleschi del Duomo di Firenze.”)

Tabanelli provided a copy of the video to the “Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore,” the company set up in 1296 to oversee the construction of the Cathedral and which has existed since then, taking care of maintaining all the buildings in Santa Maria del Fiore. In the accompanying message, Flavio wrote that

“Trump’s speech echoes American economist Lyndon LaRouche’s frequent references to Brunelleschi’s revolutionary work. The Science of Christian Economy is one among the economic texts written by Lyndon LaRouche which is available in Italian. It is a fundamental work that aims at reconciling morality and science to rebuild the basis of human existence currently usurped by free-marketeers, speculators and Malthusian oligarchs.”

The head of communications for the Opera thanked Tabanelli for “this precious information that clarifies where Trump took inspiration from, for his speech on the Florence Dome and Brunelleschi.” She then invited him to join this year’s celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the beginning of construction of the Cupola.