The Italian government has announced its first aid package for the heavily flooded areas of northern Italy.
To pay for the help, seized mafia cars must be sold and admission to state museums will be temporarily raised.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday the first aid package for the flood-affected region of Emilia-Romagna, where 15 people have been confirmed dead. At most, 36,000 people were evacuated.
Two billion euros, around SEK 23 billion, will go to affected companies and households.
In order to pay for the repair of damage to cultural heritage and to support the cultural industry, admission to all state museums will be temporarily increased by 1 euro. In addition, confiscated luxury cars must be sold.
Affected are tax exempt
The controversial right-wing politician Vittori Sgarbi, with a clear cultural profile, said on Tuesday to the TV channel La7 that voluntary gifts from museum visitors would have been preferable.
– It would have been better than raising ticket prices. It is the citizens themselves who will feel the need to save the cultural heritage, he said.
Those affected will also not have to pay any taxes, parking fines or water and electricity bills until August 31.
That’s how expensive the disaster can be
While it’s too early to say how big the damage price tag will ultimately be, several estimates put it at over $5 billion. Probably even more.
– It is still not possible to have a complete overview of the injuries, Meloni said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The floods of the past few weeks in northern Italy are described as some of the worst in the last hundred years and several municipalities are still partially under water. The authorities estimate that it will take another 10 days to remove the masses of water from, for example, the town of Conselice, outside Ravenna.
During Tuesday, the 15th victim was found.