Roman remains crumble in Italy's 'banana republic'

[Viggen]

Archaeologists fear that the remains of a large Roman villa found in Tuscany may have to be buried after they battled for years against bureaucratic incompetence.

Italy has been likened to a “banana republic” for its inability to protect the remains of a 1,600-year-old Roman villa discovered in Tuscany.

For seven years, archaeologists have excavated the site, patiently removing tonnes of soil to reveal the mosiac and marble remains of a villa which they believe to have been owned by a powerful Roman nobleman.But a familiar Italian saga of red tape and confusion between authoroties means further digging at the site, near the tiny village of Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi, has come to a grinding halt. Archaeologists say that unless a last-minute solution can be found, they will be ordered to fill in the site, covering the remains of the villa’s reception rooms, atriums and mosaic floors with soil...

 

...full article at the Telegraph

 

[MarieAntoniaParsons]

...so the Telegraph reports as yet another piece of Roman cultural history, in Italy itself, falls prey to bureaucracy.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/11119208/Roman-remains-crumble-in-Italys-banana-republic.html

 

The villa is located in Tuscany, specifically, near the lovely medieval hill-town of San Gimignano (which I had the very good fortune to visit while touring Italy earlier this month). 

 

Pompeii is another, more famous, piece of Roman history that has been endangered.  It is a sad pity that sometimes history is forced to take a backseat to other, perhaps more pressing (??) modern issues?