The earthquake that rattled central Italy has left hundreds of cultural and historical sites damaged or destroyed, Italy’s minister of culture said Thursday.
Minister Dario Franceschini said at least 293 cultural heritage assets were damaged in the earthquake zone, according to CNN affiliate RIA.
Fifty were destroyed, RIA reported.
Among the structures or sites damaged were Cattedrale di Urbino, an ancient Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Urbino, which suffered small structural cracks, the cultural ministry website said, as well as Monastero Santa Chiara in the city of Camerino.
The San Giuliano cathedral in the town of Macerata also sustained damage in Wednesday’s magnitude-6.2 earthquake.
In the hard-hit town of Amatrice, the Basilica Di San Francesco and the Chiesa di Sant Agostino partially collapsed, the ministry said.
The basilica of the Benedictine Monks of Norcia also was damaged, as were the city’s historic medieval walls.
Franceschini said all proceeds from state museums on August 28 will go to areas affected by the earthquake. He invited Italians to go to museums on that day “as a sign of solidarity with the population” in regions hardest hit by the temblor.
