Romantic ruin

 The architectural preservation movement clearly has its roots in the Romantic era, when ruins were a subject of contemplation and inspiration. But the preservation effort is going well beyond that—they want to preserve everything down to the grandmother's grange. But who actually wants to live in these decrepit and uncomfortable places? Who wants to live in these picturesque, old Italian downtowns?

My own father's house, built around 1880, was landmarked in Romania. It has just one toilet on the second floor, where two families live. It was badly damaged during an earthquake. It does not have any artistic features on the street facade.

So preservationists, spend an evening looking at these, write a poem, and demolish them!