Rome attraction at risk of collapse

ROME - Italy is rushing to the rescue of one of its greatest tourist attractions, Rome's Castel Sant' Angelo, after an investigation revealed that the ancient papal fortress was at risk of falling down.

Italy has said it will pump more than 1 million euros ($1.7 million) of emergency funding into the famous landmark after a newspaper published an expose of its decay, including holes in the walls, faulty wiring and crumbling brickwork.

"The problems faced by this extraordinary monument that represents the heart of Rome demands an extraordinary effort," culture minister Rocco Buttiglione told reporters.

The imposing Castel Sant' Angelo overlooks the River Tiber and backs onto the Vatican City.

It started life as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian in 139 AD and later became part of the city walls, a medieval citadel, a jail, a refuge for besieged Popes and more recently a museum that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The government has promised 100,000 euros for immediate restoration work for the oldest Roman part of the castle.

The rest of the cash will come at the end of the year to cover the whole complex, including the famous walkway built in 1277 connecting the Vatican to the castle so that popes could flee to the safety of its walls in times of war.

The rush to save Castel Sant'Angelo is the latest scare for Italy whose trove of art treasures burns a bigger hole in the state's pocket than it can afford.

Such is the dire state of affairs, that Italy has launched a fundraising campaign featuring reproductions of famous art, like Michelangelo's statue of David, with limbs lopped off to show what happen if Italians do not help pay for the upkeep.

The culture ministry budgeted 26 million euros in 2005 for the upkeep and restoration of hundreds of churches, palaces, convents and museums, less than half the amount independent studies estimate is needed just for maintenance.

The fundraising run by non-profit foundation Fondazione CittaItalia, with the state's backing, encourages Italians to donate online, at the bank, by post or by credit card in what organisers say is the biggest art fundraising campaign Italy has ever seen.

And organisers say the kind of deterioration seen at Castel Sant'Angelo is just the tip of the iceberg.

"We are talking about hundreds of convents, churches, palaces and castles that are not as well known but are in dire state of decay and merit being remembered and cared for," CittaItalia secretary general Ledo Prato told Reuters.

- REUTERS