We mentioned the Italian press was saying a "state of emergency" had been declared at Pompeii ... it's now hitting the English press in a big way ... we'll use the ANSA version (which is sort of a cross between the two):

The cabinet on Friday declared a year-long state of emergency at the archaeological site of Pompeii because of a ''continuing state of neglect and deterioration''.

Culture Minister Sandro Bondi said the cabinet will shortly appoint a special commissioner to resolve the emergency at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

''The commissioner will deal with order, public safety and oversee the administration of the archaeological site,'' Bondi said, adding that Pompeii Archaeological Superintendent Pietro Giovanni Guzzo would remain in charge of the preservation of the ruins.

Campania tourist chief Claudio Velardi greeted the cabinet move as ''important and courageous'', adding that he had long been calling for ''a radical change'' at Pompeii.

''But we must also lay down the foundation for an innovative and modern management,'' he said.

Velardi upset local tourist chiefs in March when he suggested capping the number of visitors to the site and boosting revenue by allowing entrepreneurs to hold events among the ancient ruins.

''People thought I was mad and tried to defend what was an unsustainable situation of sloppiness and illegality,'' he said.

''If we work well together we can turn Pompeii into a site that can worthily accommodate millions of tourists, with adequate information, efficient services and usable routes,'' he added.

The cabinet decision comes in the wake of negative media reports about the state of the archaeological site over the last week.

Many of the ancient houses are still covered in scaffolding for restoration projects that started decades ago, while Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that of the 1,500 houses in Pompeii, ''if you find two out of every ten open it's like winning the lottery''.

According to Antonio Irlando, president of the regional observatory for cultural heritage, the 2,000-year-old site is slowly crumbling.

''We lose a minumum of 150 square metres of frescoes and plaster each year because of the lack of maintenance. It's the same for stones - at least 3,000 end up as crumbs each year,'' Irlando told Corriere della Sera.

In addition to poor signposting, Pompei also suffers from inadequate facilities, with just three bathrooms over the 440,000 square metre site.

Its coffers have also been hit by the drop in tourist numbers in the trash-hit Campania region this year.

''All the Vesuvian sites show a heavy loss in the first five months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, and in general compared to the last five years,'' Guzzo said, adding that April saw a massive 19% drop in visitors.

Local newspaper Corriere del Mezzogiorno reported a fall in tourist numbers for June of 13% compared to the same period last year, but Guzzo pointed out that Pompeii did better than the rest of the region.

''In Campania the fall in numbers is well over 20%. Pompei is still one of the most visited sites in Italy,'' he said.

Over two million people visit Pompeii each year, and the site cashed in 20.8 million euros in profits for 2007.

The city was smothered in ash and cinder by the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

20 million Euros and that's the state of the site?! Is there more than 'bad management' operating at Pompeii?