With the most Unesco heritage sites, Italy struggles to revive cultural tourism

In the Villa Massimo in Rome, artists under isolation present videos, pictures and music over their walls for their neighbours to see. — VILLA MASSIMO/dpa

Italy relies on its cultural heritage and the tourists who come and visit and fall in love with it. Now, though, amid the coronavirus pandemic, theatres, museums and sights are struggling to survive.

“It’s a disaster for many people and institutions, ” says Cecilie Hollberg, director of Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia, which houses Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of David. No one knows when the Galleria, the Colosseum, the Uffizi, Pompeii and many more will be able to open again.