Emilia-Romagna flooding, 65 million euros damage to culture

Almost 65 million euros. This is the extent of the damage suffered by the cultural heritage during the flood that plaguedEmilia-Romagna in mid-May, according to the report presented this morning by the region’s culture commissioner , Mauro Felicori, during the regional culture commission chaired by Francesca Marchetti. The numbers are high: in fact, the damage affects 155 churches, 21 museums, 91 historic buildings, 12 archaeological areas, 5 historic parks and gardens, 21 archives and 13 libraries. The most affected sites turn out to be the libraries of Forlì, Lugo and Faenza, the Municipal Archives of Forlì, the theaters of Lugo and Conselice, the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte in Cesena, the church of San Francesco in Faenza, the cemetery of Faenza, and numerous movie theaters. The provinces with the most damage are Forlì-Cesena (25 million) and Ravenna (21 million), followed by Bologna (8), Rimini (4), Modena (4) and Reggio Emilia (2).

Some of the damage to culture will be covered by revenue from theone-euro increase on state museum tickets, in effect from June 15 to September 15 (in case of flows similar to the pre-pandemic period, the increase should guarantee something around 5-7 million euros). Other resources, about 8.5 million euros, had been allocated in late May by the Ministry of Culture. Councillor Felicori also calls for the extension of theArt Bonus through 2024.

“Since the first flood in May,” Felicori said, “we have moved quickly to understand the extent of the damage, after the second flood we took stock of what happened: I personally went to the flood sites to mark the Region’s closeness to the affected populations. It is the Ministry of Cultural Heritage that is coordinating the activities and we are collaborating: the government has claimed to directly manage the reconstruction; it is a choice we did not share, but so be it. We will collaborate and check that things are done, we will collaborate with the government so that it does its job well, and we will collaborate with local realities so that their rights are met. What concerns me most? The timing of the interventions: I really don’t think anyone can inflate the costs because they are already macroscopic. We need to extend the Art Bonus, the tax credit, equal to 65 percent of the amount donated, to those who make liberal donations in support of cultural heritage, through 2024.”

“As the Culture Committee,” says Chairwoman Marchetti, “we will consider making inspections of the damaged sites, we need to prevent time from increasing the damage to these sites that are so important to our history.”

Pictured: damage to the church of San Francesco in Faenza.

Emilia-Romagna flooding, 65 million euros damage to culture

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