XV CENTURY PORTAL CRUMBLES IN GELA

The city of Gela found itself in the news again at the weekend following the crumbling on Friday night of part of a fifteenth century portal leading to the Santuario Maria SS d'Alemanna.  At one time the portal was the entrance to the Sanctuary but the area around it, already deemed dangerous two years ago, had been sealed off.

The Salesian brothers who care for the Sanctuary, which is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, are brushing aside comparisons with Pompeii, saying that only a few stones and pieces of plaster fell from a disused structure.

You can judge for yourselves from the pictures in this video:

This incident comes at a time when Italy's Culture Minister is facing a vote of no confidence over the crumbling of the House of Gladiators at Pompeii and amid concerns about the stability of the Greek and Roman amphitheatres at Siracusa, among other ancient monuments in Italy.