Collapsing walls in Pompeii urge Italy to approve €2m in repair works

Italy's minister of culture called emergency meeting with archaeological experts, demanding explanations as heavy rains are causing collapses in the ancient city of Pompeii. At the same time, Italy is approving funding of up to €2m for maintenance works, citing the situation as an "utmost urgency".

Ancient city of Pompeii, one of the world's best known archaeological sites, is experiencing significant damage attributed to heavy rain, which hit the area the past few days. The damage involved the collapse of a 1.7 metres high and 3.5 metres, recently restored tomb wall in the necropolis of Porta Nocera early on Sunday. Due to the collapse, access to the necropolis was prohibited. Also, on Saturday March 1st, a smaller collapse of part of an arch supporting the Temple of Venus occured, in the excavation area, which was already closed to public access. According to officials, the inadequate drainage in the unexcavated part of the archealogical site is raising concerns as the flood risk is high, urging Italy's minstry of culture to take immediate action for the protection of the monument. 

The ancient city of Pompeii has been experiencing serious decline in the past few years. Namely, at the beginning of the year, UNESCO reported lack of qualified staff, structural damage and vandalism and has given the Itallian authorities time until the end of the year to undertake urgent measures to deal with the site's decline. The government responded with a €105m restoration project, which is jointly funded by the Italian government and the European Union. In August, a new general director was appointed to run the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation project, and will be responsible for the ontime completion of the restoration works as well as the increase of visitors by 300,000, reaching 2.6 million per year by 2017. Nevertheless, bureaucracy seems to be delaying the project's progress and is frequently blamed for the poor fund flow so far.