Archaeology

'60 million spent on Herculaneum, another 70 million ready to be invested'

Francesco Sirano, at the end of his term, takes stock of eight years at the helm of the Archaeological Park

by Vera Viola

5 April 2025

4' min read

Key points

Five years of partnership with the Packard Humanities Institute
Stalled projects, decay and closed areas
Now big projects

4' min read

"I have spent eight exciting years in Herculaneum. I leave accounts in order, we have spent 58 million from 2017 to date and I leave another 70 million available for investment over the next ten years. Having started major restoration work and brought planned conservation under control, I dream that new open-air excavations will begin': as he is about to hand over the baton to his successor, Francesco Sirano, archaeologist and director of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park whose term of office expires on 10 April, passionately recounts an experience that could be replicated at other sites. Because Herculaneum has been and continues to be a model.

Five Years of Partnership with the Packard Humanities Institute

The premises for growing the Archaeological Park and improving its management had been created before Sirano's arrival. Twenty-five years ago, in fact, the site in the shadow of Vesuvius had been blessed with good fortune, when the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI), a non-profit foundation dedicated to archaeology, music and historical archives, decided to invest in it, effectively introducing a new way of doing patronage in Italy. 'Philanthropy, as David Packard likes to define it,' Sirano points out. In short, creating a very positive US-Italian relationship that continues to this day.

Francesco Sirano, archeologo e direttore del Parco Archeologico di Ercolano

From 2016 Archaeological Park with autonomy

The other good premise lies in the regulation that recognised the autonomy of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park, "uncoupling it from the Superintendency of Pompeii (itself autonomous for years) from which Herculaneum ended up being phagocytised, especially in the years of the Great Project that absorbed economic and professional resources," he recalls. The ministerial decree of 23 January 2016, signed by Dario Franceschini, Minister of Culture, gave the park organisational, economic, financial, accounting and scientific autonomy.

Stalled projects, decay and closed areas

Archaeologist Francesco Sirano, from the Superintendency of Baia and Cumae, landed at Herculaneum in 2017. 'There were areas of serious degradation _ the archaeologist recounts _ in 2002 the site had risked being transferred from the list of Unesco heritage sites to be protected to that of monuments at risk of loss'. And again: 'Two thirds of the areas were closed to the public because of the risk of collapse. The projects offered by PHI sometimes remained in drawers due to the unavailability of professionals who could carry them out'.

The reorganisation starts in 2017

How to reverse the trend? "We start by studying the site in order to adopt a proactive logic _ says Sirano _: identifying the fragilities and planning both ordinary and extraordinary maintenance. At the same time, visits are organised with a reception plan (in 2017 the park received 490 thousand visitors a year, in 2023 it will reach 563 thousand), and the most prudent use of economic resources is studied. "We have won the challenge of self-financing the ordinary maintenance costs of the archaeological heritage and operating expenses with the proceeds from tickets, donations and rents, and we have also put restoration projects in place thanks to a ten million fund inherited from Pompeii at the time of the separation". The projects, which remained blocked, are being updated and put out to tender. The ministerial staff as a result of competitions is enriched with engineers, archaeologists, and architects. Although 36 of the 108 planned units are still missing. "My real resource is the team _ reflects Sirano _ between technicians and administrators of the Park and the PHI". The site is being secured.

Meanwhile, in July, the partnership with the Packard Humanities Institute was also renewed, with a memorandum of understanding that, among other things, will allow for the construction of new offices and new warehouses with laboratories worth EUR 45 million. "But above all, the public-private partnership is enriched _ explains the director _ by flanking the shared planning with the construction of these new facilities, which will be donated 'turnkey', so to speak, by the Packard Humanities Insitute".

Strategic Plan approved

Then comes the Strategic Plan, currently being published (EDitrice Bibliografica), which Sirano wanted to give a new turn. It is a plan for sustainability. The environmental one, since it is believed that care for the environment is necessary for the preservation of historical evidence. Just as the stabilisation of the escarpments bordering the ancient city and the works to reconnect the excavation area with the contemporary city are necessary. The irrigation of rainwater, the utmost care in the choice of materials used for restoration and weeding. But the Plan does not neglect cultural and social sustainability: through the extensive programme of imminent openings to the public of new sites such as the Underground Theatre, the Suburban Baths, the Ancient Beach and its reconnection with the Villa of the Papyri. "We believe _ adds Sirano _ although it is a common good of the whole of humanity, that the citizens of Herculaneum should feel it is their own and that the life of the city revolves around it. Our action aims to increase the economic impact of the archaeological area, to contribute to the mending of the social fabric through culture'.

Now big projects

Let us come to today. "For Herculaneum _ says the director _ thanks to the planned maintenance that has come into full swing, there is another horizon, that of the complex projects, the great restorations, the building sites, which can be deployed over even ten-year intervals of time, for the necessary care for the works, the needs for studies, research. And the large allocation of resources for the next decade is a guarantee of sustainability". Sirano is about to hand over the baton, he wants to indicate a priority. 'With Phi we are working on the project to excavate the eastern area of the ancient city. An area in which we have carried out core drilling campaigns that have revealed the presence of buildings preserved on several levels and structures that would seem to be related to the port of the ancient city'. There is still a world to recover.