Further collapses at Pompeii attraction
Source: Agencies |
December 2, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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TWO more walls have given way inside Pompeii's 2,000-year-old archaeological site, officials said yesterday, reporting the second collapse in as many days.
Officials sought to play down the latest collapses, saying they only concerned the upper parts of two walls of no artistic value. But the repeated damage at one of the world's most popular archaeological sites is proving an embarrassment for Italy, and giving credence to accusations that the area is in a state of decay.
The two walls collapsed early yesterday morning, probably as a result of heavy rains over the past several days, the office of Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said. One collapse concerned an upper chunk of a partition wall between two buildings, located along the central Via Stabiana.
Also giving way nearby was the upper part of a wall of an ancient house known as the "small Lupanare." The name usually refers to a brothel, although this was a small house off-limits to tourists, and not the vast "Lupanare" brothel famous for its erotic frescoes that is one of the main attractions at Pompeii, which is near Naples.
Neither of the collapsed walls featured frescoes, officials said. The area has been cordoned off as cultural officials review the damage.
"These kind of events are possible over the course of the life of a 2,000-year-old, vast archaeological site," said superintendent Jeannette Papadopoulos, seeking to play down the incidents.
Still, Italian Culture Minister Sandro Bondi has been criticized since the collapse last month of a hugely popular gladiator school and a garden wall at the ancient House of the Moralists.
Officials sought to play down the latest collapses, saying they only concerned the upper parts of two walls of no artistic value. But the repeated damage at one of the world's most popular archaeological sites is proving an embarrassment for Italy, and giving credence to accusations that the area is in a state of decay.
The two walls collapsed early yesterday morning, probably as a result of heavy rains over the past several days, the office of Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said. One collapse concerned an upper chunk of a partition wall between two buildings, located along the central Via Stabiana.
Also giving way nearby was the upper part of a wall of an ancient house known as the "small Lupanare." The name usually refers to a brothel, although this was a small house off-limits to tourists, and not the vast "Lupanare" brothel famous for its erotic frescoes that is one of the main attractions at Pompeii, which is near Naples.
Neither of the collapsed walls featured frescoes, officials said. The area has been cordoned off as cultural officials review the damage.
"These kind of events are possible over the course of the life of a 2,000-year-old, vast archaeological site," said superintendent Jeannette Papadopoulos, seeking to play down the incidents.
Still, Italian Culture Minister Sandro Bondi has been criticized since the collapse last month of a hugely popular gladiator school and a garden wall at the ancient House of the Moralists.
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