THE Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome is a sad place: fenced off and closed to visitors. In most other countries this huge tomb in the city centre would be a treasured national monument. Yet for years the only use Romans made of it was to take their dogs to relieve themselves in the encircling weeds. The latest plans to restore it were approved in 2007. But it was only last month that some of the funding was set aside. With a new mayor due to be elected soon, the money might yet be diverted elsewhere. The plight of the final resting place of Rome’s first emperor illustrates an irony. The European states with the greatest ancient cultural heritage, Italy and Greece, are those whose governments spend least on the preservation of that heritage and promotion of the arts. In 2013 spending on culture accounted for 0.2% of public expenditure in Greece, the lowest share of any EU country, and a measly 0.6% in Italy, the second-lowest, jointly with Portugal and Britain. Culture’s most avid patrons were the Renaissance men and women of the government of Latvia, who gave it 3.2% of their budget. The parsimony of Italy and Greece is partly connected...
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