Archeoclub d'Italia is calling on its members to 'adopt' works of art that were housed in L'Aquila churches damaged by the earthquake which devastated the capital of the Abruzzo region on Monday.
''As soon as the situation becomes clearer we will offer our help to evaluate the damage and make an inventory of religious works of art in the province of L'Aquila,'' club chairman Clelia Arduini said on Thursday.
''Through Archeoclub's 210 chapters we will promote the 'adoption' of art found in the churches there which represent a national asset,'' she added.
The club's initiative is in response to an appeal made by Msgr Francesco Buranelli, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church.
Archeoclub, a cultural association created in 1971 initially as a center to document archeological treasures but which now focuses on all cultural assets, has over 200 members in Abruzzo
The Italian Confederation of Archaeologists has thrown its support behind the project and said its members are ready to help the civil protection department and culture ministry in recovering and protecting art and other cultural treasures damaged in the earthquake.
Monday's earthquake brought down the cupolas of the 18th-century Baroque church of St Augustine and 17th-century Anime Sante church, destroyed the apse of the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio, Abruzzo's largest Romanesque church, and toppled the bell tower of L'Aquila's largest Renaissance church, San Bernardino da Siena.
Also damaged was Santa Maria ad Criptas church in the nearby town of Fossa.
