Ancient mural broken out of a wall in Pompeii

POMPEII. In early March, thieves stole an ancient fresco depicting the goddess Artemis, breaking it out of the wall of the House of Neptune and Amphitrite in the UNESCO-protected part of Pompeii, which is closed to visitors. It was not possible to establish the exact time of the theft, since there were no surveillance cameras in the historical complex, and the watchman did not immediately find a gaping white hole in the silver mural, on which now remained one sad twin brother of Artemis - Apollo.

A fragment of a fresco, 20 cm in diameter, was broken out of the wall with a metal object. At the moment, the police assume that thieves do not have much experience in stealing works of art, since it is almost impossible to export or sell a fresco from such a well-described complex as Pompeii.

In connection with this incident, the Italian Minister of Culture convened the second emergency meeting this month with the leaders of the Pompeii historic complex, dedicated to enhancing the safety of this World Heritage Site. The last meeting took place just three weeks ago, and was dedicated to the collapse of the walls of buildings in Pompeii caused by torrential rains.

A group of politicians and members of the historical complex has decided on a number of measures that should be taken immediately. Measures include expanding the guards, installing video cameras and fences, and consulting with police to prevent theft.

The theft has already been called by Italian newspapers "a disgrace to the country." The European Community called on the Italian government to pay more attention to preserving such an important complex for the whole world as Pompeii. Last year alone, the EU allocated more than 42 million euros to preserve and restore the complex. However, according to some sources, only 0.56% of this amount has been spent to date.

Recall that this is the second theft of a fresco from the Pompey complex, the last time a fragment of a painting from the House of the Orchard was stolen from the laboratory during the restoration. Later, the fragment was returned to the director of the historical complex, by mail from an anonymous sender from the city of Florence.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru