Neglected site of Pompeii to undergo emergency restoration

Chronic maintenance and governance problems at the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii will be resolved within 18 months, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi promised Thursday at a ceremony celebrating progress in ongoing restoration efforts. Pompeii, long associated with neglect and building collapses, has benefited from a 105-million-euro (115-million-dollar) grant from the European Union which is helping to improve the situation, albeit at a slower pace than planned. "Pompeii is no longer making headlines because of collapses, but because of restorations," Renzi said as he visited the site for the reopening of five private homes and of a shop rescued by the EU-funded project.

Italy was due to complete the so-called Great Pompeii Project by December 31, but it is understood that it will have to be extended as only about 40 million euros of the available funding has been spent, because of bureaucratic delays.

Renzi said that by August 24, 2017 - the 1,938th anniversary of the volcanic eruption that destroyed the city - everything will have to be completed.

"It will be a day when we will finally say: Pompeii is no longer behind schedule," he said.

The restored homes and the shop - a laundry - that were inaugurated Thursday feature stunning mosaics, frescoes and gardens. After the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, Pompeii is Italy's most popular tourist site - the UNESCO World Heritage site attracted 2.6 million visitors last year, and Renzi said that number is set to grow to 3.25 million in 2015. The once prosperous city was destroyed after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which killed thousands of people. Ruins have survived to this day after being covered for centuries by thick layers of volcanic ash.