Tour guides in Rome have reiterated their calls for a review of the summer opening hours of some of the city's top attractions after one of their colleagues died of a suspected heart attack while leading a group of tourists around the Colosseum in the heat.
Giovanna Maria Giammarino, 56, collapsed in the amphitheater at 6:00 p.m. on August 19. Despite the efforts of tourists and emergency services, she could not be resuscitated and died at the scene, the Guardian reported, quoted by dariknews.bg.
Her death came weeks after the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations warned that "extreme heat is no longer the exception, but a new reality that requires attention, adaptation and solidarity in our profession."
As tributes and condolences poured in, the Italian Association of Certified Tourist Guides (AGTA) said Giammarino's death was evidence of the physical toll that tours take on the body, and called on authorities to extend the Colosseum's opening hours so that tours can be held in the cool of the early morning or later in the evening.
The Colosseum is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. from the end of March to the end of September.
“First of all, the opening hours of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum should change in the summer“, the AGTA said in a statement posted on social media.
“There is no point in talking about a “heat crisis“ every year as if it were something new: climate change is a fact and for several years now, working in the Roman Forum from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. has been unbearable“, the association added.
It said that from the beginning of June until “at least the end of August“ the Colosseum's operating hours should be from 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.
“For three years, we have been asking for the entire park to open at 7:00 a.m. and close by an hour,“ the AGTA said. “These changes would benefit the public health of everyone: visitors, guides and other workers“.
The association said low pensions and economic uncertainty have forced many of its members to take on extra workloads and work at an unsustainable pace to support their families.