By: Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press
ROME (AP).- For all of Italy’s ancient wonders, the real wonder might be that so many are still standing, given the poor care they get. The collapse in Pompeii last week of a frescoed house where gladiators prepared for combat was the latest loss. The structure had survived the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. but apparently could not withstand modern neglect. “We’re stunned when some walls fall down. But these are ruins not systematically maintained, so the miracle is that so few of them collapse,” said Andrea Carandini, a world-renowned archaeologist who leads a panel of professional consultants in the Cultural Ministry. Last spring, a huge segment of Nero’s fabled Golden Palace beneath Rome gave way, raining down pieces of vaulted ceiling in one of the galleries under a garden popular with strollers. Three years ago, a 20-foot (6-meter) section of ancient wall crumpled into a pile of bricks after days of heavy rain. The wall had