The superintendent of the
archaeological site of Pompeii said Tuesday that he is
"confident" that efforts to preserve the UNESCO World Heritage
Site are succeeding.
Massimo Osanna was speaking at the opening of an
international conference promoting the cultural heritage of the
Mediterranean being held in the ancient site that has been under
enormous stress despite international efforts to preserve it.
"I am very confident that we'll make it," said Ossana in a
speech to the conference titled Memory of the Future and
organized by sponsors including the ANSA news agency.
Ossana said that it is important to remember Pompeii is an
enormous "city of ruins" that requires great efforts of support,
but he said staff are committed to keeping it intact.
Over the years, parts of the ancient city have collapsed
under adverse weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, and
at times suffered serious neglect.
In March, a series of wall collapses followed UNESCO
warnings the ancient city could "completely fall apart" and lose
its World Heritage status unless urgent action is taken.
The European Commission has pledged 105 million euros for
repairs and restoration under the ambitious Great Pompeii
Project for the world-famous site, created when Mount Vesuvius
erupted in 79 AD, preserving the entire city in ash.
Security has also been sub-standard, critics said after
reports of thefts of valuable frescoes and artifacts.
Pompeii has also been plagued for decades by accusations of
mismanagement, neglect and even infiltration by the local
Camorra mafia.
Still, Pompeii has become such an important symbol of Italy
and attracted so much interest from the world that it "can never
go back" to a time when decay could be ignored, said Francesca
Barracciu, undersecretary for cultural heritage and tourism.
"Pompeii is a site to preserve and bring to life, and it
can be the heart of a tourist and cultural revival - not only
the Campania region but the entire country," said Barracciu.
"The difficulties we have had up to now are being
overcome...I think there is such a level of awareness that you
cannot really go back," she said.
The international conference focuses on the value of
communication in the cultural dialogue of Mediterranean cities
with an emphasis on themes including economics, identity, and
the importance of communication in conveying cultural values.
The Mediterranean basin is seen as a place of cultural
exchange, particularly through such events as cinema, music and
theatre festivals as well as exhibitions.
ANSA's Mediterranean network ANSAmed, founded 10 years ago
in Naples, has played a significant role in the exchange of
information and cultural communication with countries on the
shores of the Mediterranean with the aim of contributing a class
of new communicators that have a clear Mediterranean identity.
A number of high-profile guests are expected in the digs of
Pompeii, one of the most visited archeological sites in the
world whose only rival in the Mediterranean basin are the
Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Media debate will be fuelled by ANSA Editor-in-Chief Luigi
Contu, whose ANSAMed desk is covering the two-day event, as well
as by Il Mattino Editor Alessandro Barbano and foreign guests
including Laure Sleiman Saab, director of Lebanon's news agency
NNA; Mohamed Sabreen, editor of Egyptian daily Al-Ahram; and
Riyadh El-Hassan, president of the Alliance of Mediterranean
News Agencies.
Meanwhile Tuesday, plans were unveiled for the rejuvenation
of a 2,000-year-old theatre at the archaeological site.
Theatrical productions inside the second-century BC
amphitheatre, the Grand Theatre of Pompeii, will commence in
July with a performance of the classic tragedy Agamemnon by
Greek playwright Aeschylus, said Campania Culture Assessor
Caterina Miraglia.
Built according to traditional Greek style, the Grand
Theatre of Pompeii had a capacity of about 5,000 spectators,
with tiered seating that makes use of a natural slope and an
orchestra arranged in the form of a horseshoe.
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