Some 2.6 million people visit Pompeii each year, placing great stress on the site’s ruins, frescoes and other archaeological treasures.

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

POMPEII, Italy - Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient city of Pompeii.
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shuffling sandals and sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
In July the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Mr. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration.
The hope is that many houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
“Pompeii is a calling card of Italy for foreigners, and it’s important that their impression be positive, said Italy’s culture minister, Sandro Bondi. He directed Mr. Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses like unlicensed tour guides .
Mr. Bondi also said that Mr. Profili would explore “new forms of innovative management in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government rules and regulations are blamed for some of the inefficiencies at Pompeii. “If I have to fix a broken wall, said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, “I first have to put out a tender for an architect to evaluate the damage.
“Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
“If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive.
The 44-hectare ruins are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat strikes . Local criminal organizations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for operating public concessions at the site.
Still, Mr. Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however, that this improvement was very small.
“The preservation of cultural heritage means ensuring that they survive forever, said Luigi Crimaco, an archaeologist. “To protect Pompeii, it’s necessary to invest and bring in people and outside capital able to inject vitality into the ancient city.
Despite the deterioration and the bad publicity, the ruins still inspire awe. “It’s wonderful, said Maria Nappi, a tourist from Connecticut who was visiting with her family. She said the site gave her a “wonderful sense of life back then, and their art and love of beauty.