Heavy rains triggered a landslide in the ancient Italian city of Pompeii, where a retaining wall partially collapsed, and earth and gravel buried the garden in front of the house of the ancient ruler of the city - Severus, officials announced today.
Officials added that the affected area is within "Great Pompeii", a joint EU-Italian restoration project, and is already closed to the public.
Pompeii, an ancient Roman city buried by volcanic ash from nearby Mount Vesuvius, south of Naples, has suffered several collapses of walls and buildings in recent years, mostly due to heavy rains.
These problems drew international attention to Italy's difficulties in maintaining cultural treasures.
Pompeii officials said firefighters went to the ancient site to identify areas at particular risk of collapse in order to shore up the structures.
Bonus video:
