(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MAY 20 - Italy is co-funding repairs on
the Museum of Islamic Art in the Egyptian capital, one of the
most important ones in the world, which was heavily damaged a
year ago by a car bomb.
The initiative was relaunched during the Cairo presentation
of the campaign #Unite4Heritage promoted by UNESCO as a direct
response to recent attacks on the cultural and architectonic
heritage of Arab nations. The campaign aims to unite all
governments and populations against acts of destruction and
damage to archaeological sites of priceless historical and
cultural value.
The Italian Development Cooperation will be contributing
800,000 euros and through UNESCO there will be the restoration
of some of the works damaged by the explosion, the selection of
museum deposits damaged by the explosion, the preparation of
protocols for the conservation of objects held in the collection
and the maintenance, repair and replacement of exhibit cases.
The Cairo Museum of Islamic Art is an exceptional
collection of rare objects in wood, plaster, metal, ceramic,
glass, crystal and fabric from all eras and from the entire
Islamic world. It holds a collection of 102,000 priceless works
mainly from the buildings and mosques of the Egyptian capital,
including painted glass windows, ''mashrabiya'', ceramic
objects, manuscripts and rare books.
Founded in 1881, since 1903 the museum has been in its
current location in the Bab Al-Khalq square, in the 25 halls of
a building in a Neo-Mameluk style designed by the Italian
architect Alfonso Manescalo and known for being the second
building erected in reinforced concrete in the country after the
Egyptian Museum.
On January 24, 2014, on the eve of the 3rd anniversary of
the Egyptian uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the
museum and the adjacent National Library of Cairo suffered
enormous damaged when a car bomb targeted the nearby central
police headquarters.
For the restoration, UNESCO will work alongside Rome's High
Institute for Conservation and Restoration (ISCR), which has
gained prestige at the international level in part due to the
expertise gained in Egypt in the museum sector, according to a
statement.
The conservation and valorization of Egypt's
archeological-cultural heritage is one of the main pillars of
the Italian Cooperation's work in Egypt. Projects have recently
been concluded for the development of Egypt's museums,
''support'' for the Library of Alexandria, the rehabilitation of
the Madinet Madi archaeological park and the restructuring of
the Mallawi Museum in the Minya governorate. (ANSAmed).
