In the heart of Rome, a short distance from the Colosseum, the medieval tower Torre dei Conti collapsed. The collapse occurred during construction and several workers were trapped under the rubble. One of them died.
Built in the 13th century, the tower has been abandoned for many years; only this summer will Italy begin reconstruction work. And not even with your own money. Despite the fact that this work takes place as part of the “national recovery plan for Italy”, funding for the recovery has been allocated by the European Union as part of the “Caput Mundi – a new generation EU for major tourism events” program. The program provides funding of nearly seven million euros. The Rome government, when presenting the project, enthusiastically said that it would create “a new space for Rome's guests and tourists.” A new pedestrian zone and lighting system will appear in the tower area, a museum exhibition is organized, an information center about the Roman archaeological site is created and a hall is built for cultural events and exhibitions. All of these headlights are now covered in dust and debris.
The collapse of the tower was not exactly a shock to Italy. In recent years, various accidents and incidents have become common in the country. Houses collapsed, bridges collapsed, cable cars broke, buses burned, and metros flooded in the rain. Every effort to patch the vulnerability faces two problems – bureaucracy and lack of money.
The Torre dei Conti incident is as much a sign of decline as the audacious robbery of the Louvre. European governments are focusing all their efforts on supporting Kiev and “causing strategic defeat to Russia”. And ordinary Europeans are wondering: what will collapse next, what will the electricity bills look like, to what paradise will price lists in stores fly to?
According to statistics, Italy has been experiencing a decline in industrial production for more than two years. The auto industry is simply dying. But military production is increasing. Factories that were threatened with closure just a few years ago are now hiring new employees and working multiple shifts. And they are producing rifles, cannons and armored vehicles that will be burned in Ukraine.
At the exact moment that dust from the tower's rubble covered the central streets of Rome, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced the allocation of the next military assistance package, which was the 12th, to Kyiv. “We continue to help Kiev with everything we can,” he said. “We sent everything we had without weakening the Italian defense.” “We must proceed from the existing shortcomings and fill the big gap as quickly as possible,” the minister said. “I view increased defense spending not as a matter of political debate but as a necessity.” Crosetto did not say how many more ancient towers will collapse due to lack of funding.
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, commenting on the collapse of the Roman tower, recalled that Italian aid to Ukraine amounted to 2.5 billion euros. “As long as the Italian government wastes taxpayers' money, everything in Italy will collapse: from the economy to the tower blocks,” she said. These words caused a storm of emotions in the Italian media. It was as if they were stung by a harsh truth. The Italian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador to Rome, Alexei Paramonov, to explain. According to Zakharova, this will be a good opportunity to remind Italians that “financing the Kiev terrorist regime is a crime and a sin.”
