It seems both Odd, and yet Obvious that Italy, the Cradle of Western Civilization with an overwhelming Treasure Trove of Cultural Artifacts, would choose to build a Virtual Exhibition of the Cultural Artifacts of the Cradle of Civilization (Iraq-Mesopotamia.)

Italy Plans a Virtual Museum of Iraq's Ancient Treasures
The Seattle Times, 
Ariel David, 
The Associated Press, 
March 1, 2009

ROME — After helping to fund the reopening of Iraq's National Museum, Italy is planning a virtual exhibition of Mesopotamian and Islamic treasures, many of which are still missing from the looted Baghdad repository. Starting late next month, Internet surfers will be able to roam eight virtual halls showcasing artifacts dating from the birth of civilization in ancient Iraq to the founding of Baghdad in A.D. 762.

"We want to offer the possibility to learn online about this extraordinary artistic and historical heritage," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said at a news conference Wednesday.

The Web site will include 3-D models, videos and animations of antiquities held in museums worldwide as well as some lost in 2003 when looters ransacked the Baghdad museum amid the chaos of the city's fall to U.S. forces.

Offering explanations in Italian, English and Arabic, the virtual museum will be incorporated into the Web site of Italy's National Research Council.

Some 100 archaeologists and computer experts worked for more than two years to complete the $1.28 million project.

The virtual exhibit does not seek to reproduce the Baghdad museum but rather give a broad look at the art and history of a land that hosted some of mankind's earliest civilizations and later became the scientific and literary hub of the Medieval Arab world, said Massimo Cultraro, the archaeologist who led the project.

Parts of Iraq's National Museum reopened Monday, thanks in part to technical help and donations from Italy.

Officials said Italy sent a team of experts to Baghdad less than two weeks after the museum was looted and has since provided help in cataloging, restoring damaged objects and training Iraqi personnel.

Though Italy's troop contingent in southern Iraq was withdrawn in 2006, Rome has continued to spearhead cultural projects in the country, drawing on its own art-rich past.

Iraq's tourism and antiquities minister Qahtan al-Jabouri appealed to the international community to continue helping his country restore the Baghdad museum.

Only about a third of the museum's halls have been repaired and it will initially be open only to organized tours for students.

Closed since the 1991 Gulf War, the museum lost some 15,000 artifacts to looters in the April 2003 rampage that sparked a worldwide outcry and saw U.S. troop intensely criticized for largely standing by.

More than half of the items were recovered in an international effort, but roughly 7,000 pieces are still missing, and about 40 to 50 are considered to be of great historical importance, according to the United Nations cultural body UNESCO.

Bahaa Mayah, an adviser to al-Jabouri, said the world must to do more to return Iraq's lost treasures and prevent further looting, which he claimed went well beyond the ransacking of the museum.

An estimated 180,000 artifacts have disappeared from Iraq's 12,000 archaeological sites, with many being sold abroad to finance terrorist activities, he said.

U.S. investigators have also said that trafficking in antiquities helps finance al-Qaida in Iraq as well as Shiite militias.

"The fight against terrorism must be conducted not only with weapons, but also with culture," Mayah said.

With Rome conducting its own aggressive campaign to recover antiquities looted from Italy, Frattini said the government would propose common, stricter rules to combat international art trafficking at the Group of Eight meeting it will chair in July.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2008785488_webiraqmuseum25.html
 

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