Italy and United Nations culture organisation Unesco have signed an agreement under which the government will contribute 500,000 euros towards the re-roofing of Ukraine's war-damaged southern city of Odessa's 18th-century cathdral - a World Heritage monument.
“Italy's insitutions and economic sector are strongly committed to supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine”, said ambassador Pier Francesco Zazo, who inked the accord with Unesco's Ukraine chief Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi
The Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Odesa was badly damaged by a Russian air strike on 23 July last year and the agreement to construct a first roof covering for the monument is "an important intervention designed to protect one of the buildings that symbolises the city’s cultural and religious history", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"As also recalled by deputy premier and foreign minister Antonio Tajani, Italy possesses exceptional expertise in the protection and preservation of international cultural and urban heritage," Zazo added.
Special envoy Davide La Cecilia and Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Kiev's regional chief, Pietro Pipi, also attended Thursday's accord signing, the foreign ministry stated.
“Our project stems from the desire to involve...creative designers, international cultural institutions, Italian companies and economic entities for an urban and architectural regeneration of Ukrainian cities, starting with Odesa," said La Cecilia.
The project builds on a proposal by the Triennale di Milano (design museum) and the MAXXI contemporary art museum in Rome currently being implemented by Italy's foreign and culture ministries "within a logic of green, digital and sustainable transformation," La Cecilia said.
