Francesco Rutelli
Sindaco di Roma

Rome faces the new millennium with a truly impressive load of programs, projects nd objectives, some of them achieved, others in progress.
The major efforts which mark this passage in time, from the Auditorium to the Convention Center, from the restructuring of roads to the restoration of monumental areas, are proof of the incessant activity which must continue for some time to come.
The ability to combine this process of urban renewal with the introduction of contents and structures missing from the existing panorama but necessary for a strategy of on-going cultural, civic and economic development is a distinctive feature of this administration.
Often the conception and planning of these initiatives is brand new, while other projects, having been placed on hold for years, and are finally being brought to completion. Among the latter, we hope to include, as soon as possible, the City of Science, an ambitious program which has been discussed in Rome for more than twenty years, and today, thanks to the effort made to initiate the procedures needed for its planning and a first, significant economic commitment, can become reality.
Strangely enough, the accumulated delay may actually prove to be an advantage, allowing the many similar experiences throughout the world to be used as guidelines and a point of reference for a comparative analysis of qualities and weaknesses.
Here lies the importance of this initial phase of consultation with the realities of the various scientific and research disciplines, with the purpose being to confirm that the effort has begun on the right foot.