An unpleasant surprise greeted the custodians of the famous Pompeii site when they arrived at work at 7 am on Saturday, for the 2,000-year-old Schola Armaturarum or House of the Gladiators had crumbled into dust, probably about an hour before.
The house, which opened onto the main street, the via dell’Abbondanza, was used for the training of gladiators and athletes and also served as a storage place for weapons. It had been damaged in World War II and was restored in the post-war period. It is now thought that the roof added at that time was too heavy and that recent heavy rains had weakened the whole structure.
There were immediate recriminations in Italy and President Napolitano, calling the disaster a “disgrace”, has called for an explanation. Culture Minister Sandro Bondi, visiting the site yesterday, said that if he believed that he had been negligent, he would resign. He also said that wall frescoes from the house were intact and could be completely restored. Mr Bondi is shortly to explain his findings to Parliament.
Experts on Pompeii are saying that so much renovation work needs to be done there that an accident of this kind was inevitable and have warned that more such incidents could take place. The Mayor of Pompeii, Claudio d’Alessio, says that requests for state help to preserve the historic site are going unheard and that something must be urgently done to save Italy’s architectural heritage.
