Preservation of cultural heritage at risk: the Department hosts a Croatian delegation
National Service and preservation of cultural heritage in emergencies are the focus of the exchanges
From today until March 21, the Department will welcome a delegation of experts from the Ministry of the Interior—Civil Protection Directorate and the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia for a training exchange on preserving cultural heritage at risk.
The purpose of the visit is to raise awareness about the operation and functioning of the National Civil Protection Service, process initiated on the occasion of the support offered by the Ministry of Culture in the aftermath of the earthquake that affected the Balkan country in 2020 and through the activities of PROCULTHER (2019-2021) and PROCULTHER - NET (2022-2023), the last two projects co-financed by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG - ECHO) in the framework of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
Today, the Croatian experts will meet the Italian stakeholders involved in preserving cultural heritage at risk. They will also be able to meet with experts from the Department, representatives of the Ministry of Culture, the National Fire and Rescue Service, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and the Army, who will talk about their respective roles, the activities carried out, and the procedures applied in emergencies. The delegation will also visit the Italy Situation Room to conclude the first day.
Tomorrow, at the Biblioteca delle Arti in Rome, the experts will learn more about the Ministry of Culture's guidelines on securing damaged or disaster-prone cultural heritage, the management of temporary storage facilities, and techniques for the selection and transfer of debris of cultural interest. The gathering will conclude with an outlook on international perspectives in this field.
On the same day, the delegation will travel to Umbria where, in collaboration with the Superintendence in charge of archeology, fine arts, and landscape, the regional Civil Protection and the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia will visit some symbols of the emergency management and post-earthquake reconstruction of central Italy in 2016, such as the Santo Chiodo deposit in Spoleto and the building sites for the reconstruction of the Monastery of Saint Benedict and the Abbey of Sant'Eutizio in Preci (PG).