Stucco falls off Pompeii building ahead of UNESCO deadline

(ANSA) – Pompeii, December 13 – A section of stucco on Friday fell off a building in the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii, just two weeks ahead of a UNESCO deadline. The UN agency has given Italy until December 31 to apply a series of upgrade measures or face having Pompeii struck off the prestigious list of World Heritage sites.

Sections of structures that have fallen in the past two years have triggered new concerns about Italy’s ability to protect the 2,000-year-old treasure from further degradation.

Italy on December 9 named Giovanni Nistri, the former head of its prestigious art-theft unit, to head up an ambitious project to restore and redevelop the Pompeii archeological site per a cabinet decree approved in early August.

The site has been plagued for decades by accusations of mismanagement, neglect, and even mafia infiltration.