Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced a temporary €1 (R21) increase in museum ticket prices around the country to raise funds to boost Emilia Romagna’s cultural heritage, damaged by last month’s deadly floods, according to euronews.com.
This will only apply to state museums and will be implemented from June 15 to September 15.
Museums, libraries and churches in the region were covered in water during the floods, with water and mud ruining antique frescoes, books and manuscripts,
The historic Malatestiana Library Unesco Heritage Site – home to priceless manuscripts and antique books in Cesena, one of the worst-hit areas – was flooded, while the masonry of the nearby Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte collapsed.
In Faenza, 1 800 ceramics and paintings were submerged in the storerooms at the Guerrino Tramonti Museum where the water rose to 30cm, damaging the building and exhibits. The city’s 1818 Manfrediana Library was reported to be under half a metre of water.
In Bagnacavallo, water entered the Museo delle Cappuccine, damaging six frescoes.
The severely flooded Trisi Library in Lugo is hoping to salvage some of its collection by freezing it. Ancient books and newspaper archives, including a 1632 book, are being placed into plastic bags and sealed in boxes before being put into a freezer. Once all the water has been frozen, it will be evaporated into gas without reliquefying through a process known as sublimination.
