Italy's Heritage and Fine Arts Minister, Dario Franceschini, has announced that he wishes the present Art Bonus incentives to be extended to include the historic churches of Venice, many of which have been badly damaged due to the recent flooding. The Art Bonus was introduced in 2014 to encourage private donations and endowments to finance the restoration and upkeep of Italy's cultural and artistic heritage. It concedes tax credits of 65% of the sum donated. To date, the scheme only applies to state owned properties, historic buildings, archives, libraries, archeological sites, museums and theatres. Private properties were excluded, though there is talk of extending the rules to include privately-owned properties open to the public. During the past five years, over 350 million euros have been received from over 11,600 donors, benefitting some 1,650 institutions and sites. Main beneficiaries have been: the Arena of Verona, La Scala, the Egyptian Museum of Turin, the Teatro Regio of Parma, the Teatro Donizetti of Bergamo and the city walls of Lucca.
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