Roman emperor's villa decays for lack of funds

By Monika Bormeth Jul 31, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Rome - The villa which Roman emperor Hadrian once used as his retreat at Tivoli in central Italy is decaying.

Yet hardly any funds are available for the urgent restoration works - as is the case with many more of Italy's valuable historic sites.

Villa Adriana or Hadrian's Villa, once a smart summer residence and retreat for Hadrian (76-138), has been a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 1999.

But many parts of the former imperial residence are in danger of collapse, prompting experts to bemoan the government's lack of interest in its fate.

In 2010, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was harshly criticized for drastically cutting cultural funding. The ministry responsible has said Hadrian's Villa will receive the necessary funds - yet hardly any money has gone towards restoring it so far.

To make matters worse, tourists are staying away from the villa, as well as from Italy9s other poorly maintained historic sites.

On a warm July afternoon, Hadrian9s Villa is almost deserted. Only a Japanese lady is sitting among the ruins, gazing at a tortoise paddling in the ancient moat.

A short distance away, a stone staircase leads through an arch beside which a yellow sign warns: 'Pericolo di crollo' - danger of collapse.

The former emperor9s residence, built between 117 and 138 AD, is littered with such signs, indicating that it is quite a dangerous place to visit.

The administrators of Hadrian9s Villa recently estimated the necessary restoration funds at a minimum of 2.5 million euros (3.6 million dollars). But the Cultural Heritage Ministry has only come up with 370,000 euros.

'Ridiculous. We can just about clean the site with that amount,' said a member of the regional cultural committee. But Cultural Heritage Minister Giancarlo Galan rejected such criticism.

'Four million euros have been set aside for Hadrian9s Villa,' Galan said. His ministry says the funds will be obtained from a 20-million-euro fund reserved for Rome - a claim that baffled an official with the city's culture department.

'The villa does not come under our authority,' the official told the German Press Agency dpa, adding that the state was financially responsible for the restoration works.

Critics say that heavily indebted Italy clearly does not have the money for the works in Tivoli - and that this is not the only site affected.

In early 2011 Galan9s predecessor, Sandro Bondi, faced criticism over the worsening decay of the world-renowned 2,000-year-old city of Pompeii, where heavy rainfall in late 2010 caused the treasured House of the Gladiators (Schola Armaturarum) to collapse.

An international outcry eventually forced Bondi to step down. But Rome's Colosseum has long been in need of restoration too.

The government finally obtained some funds from private sponsors, and the Rome landmark will be restored with money from a shoe manufacturer. In return, the company is allowed to use the world-famous monument in its advertising campaigns.

Visitor numbers to the imperial villa in Tivoli plunged by 40 per cent in 2010, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. In all likelihood, tourism will continue to suffer if drastic measures are not taken soon.

At present, an eerie calm lingers over the imperial residence. The Japanese lady has left already.

A family is strolling through the grounds and comes perilously close to a warning sign. The children are moaning. They have no interest in rocks. They9d rather feed the duck in the pond and cuddle the stray dog resting under the tree.

Like Hadrian's villa, the dog looks old too - but less dangerous to visitors.