Pompeii in race against time to spend EU funds after years of mismanagement

Nick Squires, 'Pompeii in race against time to spend EU funds after years of mismanagement' Daily Telegraph 26th Oct 2015.

After three years of squabbling and mismanagement at Pompeii, restorers are now working round-the-clock to spend millions of pounds provided by the EU in a last-minute bid to keep money flowing before an end-of-year deadline. Having complained for decades that they did not have enough money for the upkeep of the ancient site, Pompeii’s custodians are now accused of failing to use funds offered by Brussels to prevent further damage to the World Heritage attraction. Three years ago the EU pledged £56 million (€78 million) for Pompeii, a generous donation that was topped up by Italy with a further £20 million (€27 million). But a combination of bureaucratic squabbling, inept management and fears of the money ending up in the hands of the local Camorra mafia, means that so far just €21 million of the total €105 million available has been spent. The failure to use the funds risked turning into a “national debacle” said L’Espresso, a respected weekly news magazine. 

Brussels has now issued a stark warning to the Italians – "use it or lose it". Unless work can be speeded up dramatically, the unspent funds will be claimed back by the European Commission.
English cultural property affairs critic John Howland suggests that Italy is characterised by its "bumbling inefficiency when it comes to heritage protection". He says:

In my view, if the present situation endures where the inmates are running the asylum; where UNESCO appears to be an expensive white elephant and gravy train, the future is indeed bleak for those of us whose snouts have never been in the trough.

Meanwhile the article offers one solution to the problem:

Tourists are frequently caught trying to pocket bits of mosaic or masonry as souvenirs of their visit. The latest incident came at the weekend, when a 36-year-old French tourist attempted to steal a fragment of Roman crockery that she found on the ground. She was spotted putting it into her handbag by an Italian visitor, who notified officials at the site.

If the Italians, who have storerooms full of these artifacts would have the imagination to sell small duplicate items to collectors, they would not have to rely on EC and UNESCO funds.