Italy unveils 740 mln USD plan for making monuments, museums quake-proof

ROME, Feb. 22– Italy’s Culture Ministry on Tuesday unveiled a
600-million-euro (740 million U.S. dollars) plan to make the country’s
churches, museums, and monuments earthquake-proof.

The funds will be available immediately and include “the most important
anti-seismic plan ever financed for state museums”, plus a refurbishing of
city peripheries and restorations throughout Italy, the ministry said in a
statement. “The resources allocated today mark an important goal with
the first, large-scale seismic risk prevention plan for state museums, and
the securing of national cultural assets,” Culture Minister Dario
Franceschini said. The ministry statement came with a 32-page list of
projects in locations across the country. The money will be spent on
archeological sites, castles, churches, fortresses, libraries, palaces,
museums, and theaters. In Rome the ministry is financing 26 different
interventions, including making the Colosseum earthquake-safe. Florence got
financing for 18 projects, most of them restorations, plus construction of
two new museums in Palazzo Pitti. Naples, which lies in the highly seismic
Campania region, will see 21 different churches, museums, and other
cultural sites made quake-proof. Venice will see nine anti-seismic
interventions, and some restorations. – XINHUA

Photo:Japan building made quake-safe by curtain of cables anchoring it down