Italian Cultural Heritage Projects in Beirut and Lebanon

Nearly a year after the Beirut port explosion, Italy's Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, details Italian interventions in the hardest-hit neighborhoods. Italy provided humanitarian aid, debris removal by the Task Force Emergenza Cedri, and rehabilitation of schools, health services, and public housing via AICS. The Carabinieri's Unite4Heritage task force mapped damage and trained Lebanese security forces. The restoration of the Mar Mikhael railway station, abandoned for decades, will create an industrial archaeology park in collaboration with UN Habitat and Lebanon's Directorate General of Antiquities. Italy also supported cultural life by facilitating the loan of Artemisia Gentileschi's "Maddalena Sursock" to Milan. The Baalbek Serail was returned to Lebanese authorities on May 20, and work on Shamaa Castle is nearly complete. A four-language guide to the National Museum of Beirut was published. The Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek restoration is advanced, certified by UNESCO and ICOMOS, with completion expected in months. Italy is also working on the future Museum of Tyre, with over 5,000 artifacts, expected by second half of 2022. On May 16, Deputy Foreign Minister Marina Sereni signed an agreement with UNESCO for the restoration of the Sursock Museum of modern and contemporary art, damaged in the explosion. Five Italian archaeological missions are active across Lebanon.