Notre Dame was hardly the first European gem consumed by fire, and authorities are increasingly warning that it won't be the last.
Why it matters: These civilizational achievements are also key sources of revenue in old Europe, the AP reports: "Tourism in Britain and France alone amounts to about 7% of their Gross Domestic Product, good for around 150 billion euros and 170 billion euros (around $170 billion and $190 billion) a year."
The big picture: "A 2015 study by the German engineering giant Siemens showed that Scotland had about 10 damaging fires a year, while England lost at least a dozen listed buildings a year. Germany has seen 70 such buildings destroyed since 2000."
- "In 1985, the tower of Luxembourg’s main cathedral caught fire and burned down."
- "In 2004, a fire in the Duchess Anna Amalia library in Weimar, Germany, caused an estimated 80 million euros ($90 million) in damage."
- "In Italy, the historic La Fenice opera house in Venice was destroyed by fire in 1996, and a year later, that happened at Turin’s Sindone Chapel of the Holy Shroud."
Between the lines: As with Notre Dame, many "fires happen during restoration work," including the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building and Barcelona's opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
The bottom line: "As state funding dries up, governments are increasingly looking for private donors to renovate major monuments."
- "In Italy in recent years, Tod’s luxury shoes sponsored the Colosseum face-lift, while the Fendi fashion house helped the Trevi Fountain in Rome and Diesel backed improvements for the Rialto bridge in Venice."
Go deeper:
- "Preserving the Sistine Chapel Is a Never-Ending Task. See Stunning Behind-the-Scenes Photos of What It Takes" (ArtNet)
- "Britain's Houses of Parliament are often referred to as crumbling and are scheduled to undergo renovations in the mid-2020s. The oldest part of the estate, Westminster Hall, was built in 1099 and remains in use today." (NBC)
