Rome:
Two more ancient Roman walls gave way in the 2000-year-old archaeological site of Pompeii on Wednesday following the collapse of one on Tuesday and the ruin of a frescoed house last month.
Experts blamed persistently heavy rains which have lashed the site in recent weeks, wearing away the ancient mortar between the stones.
On Tuesday, a 12-metre long garden wall fell behind the House of the Moralist, so-called because the owner wrote rules of etiquette for visitors on the walls of his home including "Let water wash your feet clean" and "Take care of our linens."
Last month, a frescoed house where gladiators prepared for combatcollapsed...sparking a sharp debate over the future of Italy's cultural heritage.
Government officials denied the incident was due to cuts in the culture budget and blamed local management problems at the site.
Once a bustling city, Pompeii was entombed by the massive eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, but was partly excavated and attracts thousands of visitors every year to one of the best-preserved ancient sites in the world.