Preserving Today's Historic Sites

Pompeii may be the best-conserved Roman city in the world, but many critics are beginning to say that years of neglect and disinterest have turned it into an international embarrassment. The historic site is now covered with graffiti and weeds, and the plaster casts of the Ancient Romans are presented on are sitting on rusty metal legs and dusty cabinets that look like they haven’t been cleaned in months. Corriere Della Sea, a very respected broadsheet, brought this disturbing news to the surface. She ran the story as a front-page news story with the headline “The humiliation of Pompeii”. What does that name say to you? This is obviously something of great importance to the people who revere the site and also to those in the community that benefit from the money that is put into the economy by tourists who come to see Pompeii. If the tourists stop coming then there is less money being pumped into the economy, and the government is turning this issue into a party argument. The government in-charge right now blames the previous party and the previous party is blaming the current for the shamble-like state of Pompeii. This should not be an issue of which government is to blame, but an issue of who is going to do something about it? Pompeii is an historic site that needs to be preserved for all of time. The Berlusconi government has made major financial cuts to the arts and heritage funding. In 2007 alone, the money allowed for maintenance was 30 million Euros, and it fell to 19 million Euros in 2010. Salvatore Settis, a former president of the government’s heritage committee said that the blame for these atrocities could not be pinned on one government or one party alone. Settis said, “Parties on both side have completely marginalized culture and heritage.” It’s time for the government to step up to the plate, and do everything they can to preserve their history for generations to come to enjoy and learn from like they got to.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8053829/Pompeii-a-symbol-of-Italys-sloppiness.html