A 2,000-year-old ancient Roman house used
by gladiators before fighting to the death has collapsed in the buried city of
Pompeii, further fuelling claims the site is badly managed.
By Nick Pisa Daily Telegraph in Rome
4:32PM GMT 07 Nov 2010
The stone house, known as Schola
Armaturarum Juventus Pompeiani, crumbled into a pile of rubble and dust in the
early hours of Saturday morning before visitors were allowed in.
Although the house is closed to the public,
it was a popular site in the city – buried by an eruption from nearby Mt
Vesuvius in AD79 – because of its beautiful gladiator frescoes painted on the
outside walls.
Pompeii, south of Naples is a unique
historical site and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list but for decades it has
been allowed to fall into ruin and disrepair.
Today more than 250 years after it was
discovered, 40% of the city – which if fully excavated would give a unique
insight into ancient Roman life – is closed or yet to be examined.
Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano called
the collapse "a shame" and it came after an expose last month by
newspaper Corriere della Sera that said Pompeii was an international
embarrassment because of the mismanagement.
Officials at the site have blamed the
collapse on a lack of funds but the Culture Minister Sandro Bondi insisted
after visiting Pompeii on Sunday that funds were adequate and management were
to blame.
Minister Bondi added that if there was any
evidence that he "was responsible" then he would resign saying:
"I stand by the work that has been done here."
He said the probable cause was rain water
that had infiltrated the House of the Gladiators when it was restored with
cement at the end of the Second World War after suffering bomb damage.
Officials said they were
"hopeful" that the frescoes could be saved with Professor Christopher
Smith, the director of the British School in Rome which carried out digs across
Italy offering his help and knowledge.
Professor Smith, has not worked at Pompeii
but the School is known for its dig at nearby Herculaneum which was also buried
in the same eruption of Mt Vesuvius and is much better preserved and
maintained.
Professor Smith said: "It's extremely
sad to see what has happened at Pompeii, which is clearly suffering problems
from its maintenance. Pompeii is a site of world heritage and we would be more
than happy to offer our experience.
"Archeological sites are always at
risk when they are open to the elements but the problems at Pompeii have been
going back for decades and our experience is that you need a good plan for
maintenance and administration."
Professor Smith added: "Unless there
is a proper plan put into action I'm very sad to say that we will see this sort
of thing happen again – buildings that are at risk must be secured or they will
collapse."
On Sunday the site – which has more than
two million visitors a year – was open to the public but TV footage showed many
buildings held up by rickety-looking scaffolding, roped off or closed with
wrought iron gates.
In 2008 Silvio Berlusconi's government put
just over two billion euros aside for heritage conservation but this year it
was cut to 1.7 billion in a bid to save money – with two million euros
earmarked for Pompeii.
Two years ago the government declared a
state of emergency for Pompeii and it lasted until 2009 with extra funds and
special measures but critics have said the special intervention was badly
managed.
Historians said that collapsed building
would have been the residence for gladiators in Pompeii.
It would have been where they trained and
relaxed before fighting in the nearby arena, and trophies would have been on
display.
The collapse of the House of the Gladiators
comes just eight months after part of the Domus Aurea, or Nero's Golden Palace,
crumbled in the centre of Rome, again after rain infiltration.
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