High School
Worksheets
Lenora Tries to Help with Italy's Art Problems
Lenora considers herself to be an artistic individual. She loves to draw, paint, and sculpt. She visits museums and historical sites with her family on a regular basis. Growing up in Italy has given her many experiences in which she has learned to appreciate others' art as well.
Italy is known for some of the most incredible art and architecture in the world. Much of it has been around for a long, long time. Italy has famous art-filled sites in places such as Rome, Florence, Naples, and Pienza. Italy is known for Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Italy is famous for the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and so many other historic sites. You may already know this from what you've learned from your parents, TV, books, or school. What you may not realize is that Italy is experiencing some real troubles in the art world. Much of Italy's art needs better protection since many pieces have been stolen. In addition, many pieces, and even entire historical sites, are crumbling and are in desperate need of restoration. You may wonder why, in a nation with such an incredible history of art, the problem isn't being handled. The bottom line is money. Even Lenora, growing up in this cultural environment, found this hard to understand.
Lenora learned some important facts from the Italian Ministry of Culture. It cares for approximately 400 museums and archaeological sites throughout the country of Italy. It spends around $420 million per year. It is estimated that it would take at least $980 million per year to restore and maintain them all. While many other countries in the world get enormous private donations to help protect and restore their art and archaeology, the Italian Ministry of Culture has to make do with only $59 million, which is a lot less than many other countries.
