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Pompeii under threat

Summary

3 March 2014

The government of Italy has called for an emergency meeting to discuss how to save the ancient Roman city of Pompeii from further ruin. It comes after new damage this weekend at the site.

Reporter:

Mattia Cabitza

Report

The newly appointed Italian culture minister, Dario Franceschini, is already facing a huge challenge: how to save one of the world's most treasured archaeological sites.

He's summoned officials from Pompeii to Rome to report on the state of the site, and explain why the wall of a tomb and part of an arch of the Temple of Venus fell down after days of heavy rain this weekend.

This is not the first time that the site has suffered damage. There was an international outcry in 2010 after a series of wall collapses in Pompeii. The ancient city was completely buried in ash in 79 AD after a volcanic eruption, and rediscovered in the 18th Century.

Critics say that, having survived for two millennia, one of Italy's most popular attractions is now being neglected.