No one can question Italy’s plethora of art and cultural sites and there are many architectural treasures that need preservation and restoration. Italy is spending 300 million euros ($420 million) per year for restoration and upkeep of its cultural heritage and private donations from Italian citizens and companies total about 42 million euros ($59 million) but this doesn’t make enough funds needed for restoration of the architectural sites.
Italy has launched a campaign that will help raising money to rescue these threatened cultural treasures. Italy’s minister of culture, Francesco Rutelli dubbed these threatened cultural treasures as seven missions impossible and will feature in a series of programs scheduled on government-backed RAI public television channels.
Seven architectural treasures dotted around various regions throughout Italy are:
• Emperor Augustus’ house on Rome’s Palatine Hill.
• A museum of musical instruments in Cremona, Lombardy.
• The greenhouses at the Castle of Racconigi in Piedmont.
• The Phoenician city and necropolis of Sulky on the island of Saint Antioch in Sardinia.
• The tactile “Omero” Museum in Ancona, Le Marche.
• The medieval site of Santa Maria del Cedro in Cosenza in Calabria.
• The historic train-ride between Siracusa-Modica-Ragusa in the Val di Noto in Sicily.
Launched this past weekend, the campaign has already raised 3 million euros ($4.2 million) and it is anticipated that if more than the target amount of 500 thousand euros ($700,000) per site is reached.
The process to make donation is kept easy for people. It’s as simple as a text message from a mobile phone and it contributes the small sum of 2 euros ($3) or buying a 3 Euro ($4.20) gift card at gas stations or highway food stops can also help people contribute. More generous donations generous can also be made with bank transfers or a credit card using toll-free numbers. Click here to get more information about the project.
Source: ABC News
