AS Silvio Berlusconi's power dissolved, another ageing, badly restored monument crumbled in a different part of Italy: in the ancient city of Pompeii, a wall collapsed into rubble, a grimly fitting testament to Berlusconi's cultural legacy.
Berlusconi's neglect of Italy's architectural heritage may not have been his most notorious failing, but it was spectacular nonetheless. The embarrassments of the bunga bunga years will pass, but the damage to ancient monuments is likely to be permanent.
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