Italy plans €1bn investment into culture
After announcing plans in January to invest €300m (US$325m, £220m) to protect its most important heritage sites in need of restoration, Italy has earmarked €1bn (US$1.16bn, £790m) for cultural investments on projects across the country.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini called the plans, "the biggest patrimony intervention in Italy's history", saying that the funds would be divided between 33 projects across Italy.
Addressing members of the press, Franceschini said the massive investment would provide "dreams, kept in drawers, which never had the necessary resources", adding that the plans were "proof that this government believes in culture driving growth", a trend not seen in recent years when many of Italy’s historic cultural locations have been in a poor or decaying state thanks to public spending cuts, corruption and bad management.
Among the investments, €40m (US$46m, £31.6m) will go towards the expansion of the Uffizi museum, with the plans including opening up a “secret” corridor connecting the museum to Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio.
The famous ancient city of Pompeii will also receive a €40m investment, which will go on essential maintenance of the Roman-era walls and mosaics, which are falling apart and disintegrating.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Herculaneum, also located in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and also destroyed with Pompeii in AD 79, will gain €10m (US$11.6m, £7.9m) for repairs and excavation of the site that remains largely unexcavated with around 75 per cent of the site still to be investigated.
€30m (US$34.7m, £23.7m) has also been earmarked for the medieval town of L'Aquila, while €20m (US$23.3m, £15.8m) will go towards restoring Paestum Museum – a major ancient city, famous for its three ancient Greek temples dating from about 600 to 450 BC.
Italy Culture Heritage Dario Franceschini Herculaneum Uffizi museum PompeiiUNESCO and Italy form heritage taskforce to tackle cultural destruction worldwide
Italy's culture ministry pledges €300m to heritage sites
Foreign directors given top positions in Italian museum sector shakeup
Italy's Culture Ministry seeks 20 new directors as part of museum sector shakeup
Italy's over 65s lose free access to cultural attractions
WMF list identifies 67 heritage sites ‘at risk of destruction' in 2014
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
The Peninsula London unveils Peter Marino-designed spa inspired by London’s famous parks
First glimpses revealed of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair's subterranean spa retreat
"Architecture is alive" says Ma Yansong, as Shenzhen art museum opens exhibition showcasing work of MAD Architects
Across Denmark, a charity is turning industrial buildings into centres for street sport and art. As the concept prepares to go global, we speak to the people making it happen