Italy allocates €300m to preserve cultural heritage

Italy allocates €300m to preserve cultural heritage

The Italian cabinet allocated 300 million euros (324.49 million U.S. dollars) to preserve the national cultural heritage, the Culture Ministry announced on Monday.

The resources will be distributed according to a three-year plan to fund 241 projects across the country, according to Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities Dario Franceschini.

"Such investment proves that culture is back at the core of the government's action," Franceschini said in a statement.

"From art and archaeology to museums and libraries, all our cultural heritage sectors are receiving a significant boost, in economic and political terms," he added.

The plan will pour fresh resources into 19 of the 20 Italian regions.

Rome and the Lazio region would receive 68.4 million euros.
Tuscany would receive 20.5 million euros
Emilia Romagna would receive 14 million euros
Veneto would receive 13 million euros
Lombardy would receive 11.9 million euros
Piedmont would receive 11.4 million euros
Other areas receiving major funds would be Naples and the surrounding Campania region, the Island of Sardinia, and Puglia.

The new resources will add to 360 million euros, in both European and national funds, which the cabinet assigned in June 2015 to the preservation of the cultural heritage in Italy's five southern regions (Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, and Sicily).

Such regions feature several major artistic assets and touristic attractions, including the country's largest archaeological site, Pompeii, and provide support to some of the cultural heritages which were not so well protected due to negligence.

The 300-million-euro plan would not only focus on restoration projects, but also allow security measures in the Italian museums to be strengthened, according to the ministry.

Some 50 million euros will be used to purchase or upgrade video surveillance and alarm systems of major cultural sites across the country.

Another 45 million would pay for the so-called "Art-Bonus" provision, which the cabinet approved in May 2014 to grant a 65 percent tax deduction for private donations to cultural restoration projects.

Overall, the plan will provide some 53.7 million euros to museums, some 58 million euros to arts, more than 37 million to archaeological sites, and 22 million to libraries.

Major restoration projects include the palace of Roman emperor Nero or Domus Aurea
2015 Photo (c) Buzz Ferebee, www.pompeiiinpictures.com
Click to enlarge

Major restoration projects will include a 13-million-euro maintenance on the palace of Roman emperor Nero, or "Domus Aurea", which is a huge complex located atop the Palatine Hill in Rome. Also in the Italian capital, some 5.4 million euros will be used to refurbish the Palazzo Venezia. Venice alone would receive 6 million euros.

More than 2.4 million euros will fund the restoration of San Martino museum in Naples, some 2 million will be used to repair the ancient city walls in Siena, Tuscany, and 3.5 million will be given to the National Library in Florence.

Source The Archaeology News Network