Security at the Royal Palace of Caserta, deficiencies and omissions by the director according to a Mibac report

There would be “deficiencies and omissions” on the part of the director of the Royal Palace of Caserta, Mauro Felicori, at the origin of the collapse of a portion of plaster in the Hall of the Ladies inside the museum, which occurred last December. This was stated in a report by the inspectorate of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, called to shed light on an episode that could have caused damage to tourists and workers (fortunately, at the time of the collapse, no one was present in the hall).

“The investigations and inspections conducted by this General Secretariat on the collapse that took place in the Royal Apartment of the Royal Palace of Caserta, Ladies’ Room, on December 10, 2017,” the report reads, “revealed several shortcomings/omissions on the part of the Director of the Royal Palace, Dr. Felicori, both with regard to the safety of workers and visitors, and with regard to the safeguarding and preservation of the cultural asset.” The director is being challenged on several points: failure to comply with his obligations regarding safety at work (in fact, the Reggia’s risk assessment document lacks references to the risks present in the museum’s environments), failure to carry out instrumental monitoring and graphic and photographic surveys in the environment affected by the collapse and in those nearby, failure to prepare requests for funding for restoration, and failure to block access to the Hall of the Ladies and other rooms of the Royal Apartment at risk. After the collapse, the hall, along with six adjoining rooms, had been placed under seizure by the Republic of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, which hypothesized the crime of omission of works in buildings or constructions threatening ruin, at the expense of unknown persons: the rooms were then reopened to allow the rooms to be secured.

The possibility of criminal liability is now looming: the facts, the report further states, “lend themselves, given the seriousness of the situation ascertained and the omissions listed, to configure possible criminal liability against the individuals responsible.” Finally, the inspectorate urges safety works: “without prejudice to the measures that this Administration intends to take with regard to the responsibilities of the management of the Royal Palace for the shortcomings/omissions referred to, it is urgent to carry out the work of securing and restoration of all the rooms of the Apartment, to begin within a month from the release of the environments by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, taking into account that the Royal Palace of Caserta Institute, as stated by the Director himself, has available, for some time, funding usable for this purpose.”

Image: the Royal Palace of Caserta. Ph. Credit Antonio Gentile

Security at the Royal Palace of Caserta, deficiencies and omissions by the director according to a Mibac report

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