Palaexpo - Roma © Antonio Politano

Portrait of a monolith with tourists. White people arrived at Uluru Ayer’s Rock 130 years ago. The first tourists 70 years later. It took two days to cover the track from Alice Springs and slept in tents placed in front of the monolith. Before that, apart from scientists, gold hunters and dingoes, the Anangu (who think they have always been here , the archaeologists suggest for 22 thousand years) remained relatively undisturbed. Today, the resort that is built on the edge of the park surrounding Uluru and KataTjuta, instead of the previous invasive motels, hosts thousands of people everyday. Five hotels (three to five stars), a campsite, eleven restaurants, five swimming pools, a shopping center, an airport, an agency that proposes from camel tours in the early morning to Harley Davidson tours at sunset, from the flight on the Ayer's Rock Helicopters, following a definite triangle of corridors drawn not to fly over sacred places, to the night with the astronomer to observe the stars of the Southern hemisphere. Nature beauty is a business. The tourism machine revolves round sunrise and, above all, sunset (in between is the swimming-pool time, a dip in the pool, a snooze or a tour for souvenirs). The parking areas are the location for the show, with folding chairs, tea, coffee, orange juice or bottles of champagne, depending on budgets. Uluru is just the fifth. In the parking area for cars there is more improvisation: there are those who are satisfied with a stool and a cup of tea, those who climb on the roof of four wheels vehicles and campers, those who play the bagpipe, who improvise a dance. In the buses area standardized organization reigns: there are tables covered with white tablecloths filled with glasses ready for the toast, organized groups with binoculars and folding chairs, waiters serving appetizers and champagne to incentive groups. The sun goes down, the show is over, the performance repeats tomorrow

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	Ritratto di monolite con turisti. A Uluru i bianchi sono arrivati 130 anni fa. I primi turisti 70 anni dopo. Impiegavano due giorni per percorrere la pista da Alice Springs e dormivano in tende piazzate davanti al monolite. Prima, a parte scienziati, cercatori d’oro e cacciatori di dingo, gli Anangu (che pensano di essere qui da sempre, gli archeologi suggeriscono da 22 mila anni) rimasero relativamente indisturbati. Oggi il resort che è sorto ai margini del parco che circonda Uluru e KataTjuta, al posto dei motel invasivi di un tempo, ospita migliaia di persone al giorno. Cinque alberghi (da tre a cinque stelle), un campeggio, undici ristoranti, cinque piscine, uno shopping center, un aeroporto, un’agenzia che propone dal giro in cammello all’alba a quello in Harley Davidson al tramonto, dal volo con la Ayer’s Rock Helicopters, seguendo un triangolo preciso di corridoi tracciati per non sorvolare luoghi sacri, alla notte con l’astronomo per osservare le stelle dell’emisfero australe. La bellezza è un business. La macchina superoleata per il turismo ruota attorno all’alba e, soprattutto, al tramonto (in mezzo c’è lo swimming-pool time, un tuffo in piscina, un pisolino o un giro per souvenir). All’interno del parco hanno costruito due aree di parcheggio, una per le auto, l’altra per gli autobus. È lì che avviene lo show. Uluru è la quinta. Nel parcheggio auto c’è più improvvisazione: c’è chi si fa bastare uno sgabello e una tazza di tè, chi monta sul tetto di fuoristrada e camper, chi suona la cornamusa, chi improvvisa una danza. In quello dei bus regna l’organizzazione standardizzata: vi sono tavoli dalle tovaglie bianche ricoperti di bicchieri colmi pronti per il brindisi, gruppi iperorganizzati con sedie pieghevoli e binocoli, camerieri che servono stuzzichini e champagne a gruppi incentive. Il sole va giù, lo spettacolo è finito, si replica domani	Portrait of a monolith with tourists. White people arrived at Uluru Ayer’s Rock 130 years ago. The first tourists 70 years later. It took two days to cover the track from Alice Springs and slept in tents placed in front of the monolith. Before that, apart from scientists, gold hunters and dingoes, the Anangu (who think they have always been here , the archaeologists suggest for 22 thousand years) remained relatively undisturbed. Today, the resort that is built on the edge of the park surrounding Uluru and KataTjuta, instead of the previous invasive motels, hosts thousands of people everyday. Five hotels (three to five stars), a campsite, eleven restaurants, five swimming pools, a shopping center, an airport, an agency that proposes from camel tours in the early morning to Harley Davidson tours at sunset, from the flight on the Ayer's Rock Helicopters, following a definite triangle of corridors drawn not to fly over sacred places, to the night with the astronomer to observe the stars of the Southern hemisphere. Nature beauty is a business. The tourism machine revolves round sunrise and, above all, sunset (in between is the swimming-pool time, a dip in the pool, a snooze or a tour for souvenirs). The parking areas are the location for the show, with folding chairs, tea, coffee, orange juice or bottles of champagne, depending on budgets. Uluru is just the fifth. In the parking area for cars there is more improvisation: there are those who are satisfied with a stool and a cup of tea, those who climb on the roof of four wheels vehicles and campers, those who play the bagpipe, who improvise a dance. In the buses area standardized organization reigns: there are tables covered with white tablecloths filled with glasses ready for the toast, organized groups with binoculars and folding chairs, waiters serving appetizers and champagne to incentive groups. The sun goes down, the show is over, the performance repeats tomorrow