Newly-returned culture minister freezes counter-reforms of predecessor.

The administration of Italy's National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia in Rome is currently in a state of limbo after a contentious decree abolishing the museum's managerial and financial autonomy was ushered in by former culture minister Alberto Bonisoli during the dying days of the last government.

The alarm over the situation at Villa Giulia was raised in recent days by former director Valentino Nizzo who told Italian news agency ANSA that all funding and tenders for restoration have been "blocked" following the decree, referred to by the culture media as Bonisoli's "counter-reform".

The decree was seen a direct un-doing of the reforms made by Bonisoli's predecessor Dario Franceschini who, in a twist of fate, is now back in charge as Italian culture minister.

In mid-September, days after his return to office, Franceschini ordered the "temporary suspension" of the decree "as a precautionary measure" to assess its potential impact, leaving the Etruscan Museum in limbo.

Villa Giulia houses artefacts from pre-Roman Italian antiquity, including a wealth of Etruscan treasures such as funerary artefacts, bronze urns, terracotta, jewellery and weapons.

Photo Romah24.com