Italian media erupted with anger after it was revealed that a French museum would be scrapping Roman numerals at exhibits after claims that fewer people can understand them.
The Musée Carnavalet, the oldest City of Paris museum, announced earlier this week that it would be scrapping Roman numerals from exhibits, after stating that it would be easier for visitors to understand Arabic numerals, instead.
Italian media reacted angrily to the move, with Massimo Gramellini, writer and vice-director of the newspaper Corriere Della Sera, writing: âThis story of Roman numerals represents a perfect synthesis of the ongoing cultural catastrophe: first, things are not taught, then, we eliminate them so that those who donât know them wonât feel uncomfortable.â
Le Figaro reports that Luciano Canfora, a professor of classics at the University of Bari, blamed âpolitical correctnessâ for the move, which he called a âgeneral scourgeâ.
âIt would be desirable to have a law imposing compulsory illiteracy and the return to only oral communication,â Professor Canfora sarcastically wrote in the Corriere della Sera.
âThe controversy: Louis XIV will become Louis 14,â wrote Romeâs Il Messaggero.
France Closes Louvre Museum Over Coronavirus Fears https://t.co/Y7mm1Pgi17
â Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 2, 2020
NoĂ©mie Giard, head of visitor services at the museum, explained the move to Le Figaro, saying: âWe are not against Roman numerals, but they can be an obstacle to understanding.â
Ms Giard added: âWe have all noted that few visitors read the texts in the galleries, especially if they are too long. They tend to jump from one to another and pick at them. How often have we seen parents reading explanations intended for children.â
The use of Roman numerals has also sturred debate in the United States in the past in regard to the National Football Leagueâs (NFL) championship game, the Super Bowl.
In 2011, the Washington Post published an opinion article calling for an end to the practice of using Roman numerals, stating the system was too difficult â but did advocate for the continued use of Roman numerals for âmovies and Popesâ.
The MusĂ©e Carnavalet is not the only Parisian museum to make headlines in recent days. Last week, Franceâs National Museum of the History of Immigration head Pap Ndiaye called on the country to confront its colonial past following last yearâs Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.