The Great Pompeii Project arose from an initiative of the Italian government, which enacted Decree Law no. 34/2011 (Art. 2) with the aim to enhance the effectiveness of the actions and interventions for protecting the archaeological area of Pompeii by developing a special urgent programme of conservation, maintenance, and restoration.
With European Union decision no. C (2012) 2154 of 29th March 2012, it is funded as a Major Project drawing on resources of the Interregional Operational Programme “Cultural, Natural and Tourism Attractors” ERDF2007-2013 (POIn).
The Great Pompeii Project applies the Inter-institutional Agreement on Legality and Security of 20th January 2012 between the Italian Ministry of Territorial Cohesion, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research, and the President of the Authority for the Supervision of Public Contracts, which oversees the security of contracts, with the signing of the Protocol of Legality of 5th April 2012.
The Great Pompeii Project, an important and challenging intervention with funding of 105 million euros between the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and national funds, aims at the requalification of the archaeological site of Pompeii by December 2015. The main areas of intervention include:
- reduction of the hydro-geological risk by securing the unexcavated embankments;
- securing the insulae (apartment buildings);
- consolidation and restoration of masonry;
- consolidation and restoration of decorated surfaces;
- protecting buildings from weather exposure, with a consequent increase in the number of areas that can be visited;
- strengthening of the video-surveillance system.
The project is supported and accompanied by a suitable plan for scientific and technical study aimed at diagnosis, expansion of scientific knowledge, and providing the direction of the operational choices.