Italy Allocates €32.5 Million for Cultural Heritage Restoration in Odesa

Italy is set to grant Ukraine €32.5 million in non-repayable aid aimed at restoring the cultural heritage of the Odesa region. The agreement was signed on July 10 in Rome during the International Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025).

This was announced by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.

According to the terms of the agreement, the funding will be directed towards the restoration of six architectural monuments in Odesa that were damaged due to Russian aggression. These include:

The Odesa National Art Museum;

• The Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art;
• The Odesa Regional Philharmonic named after David Oistrakh;
• The Odesa Literary Museum;
• The Zontag House;
• The Wedding Palace.

The agreement will include comprehensive restoration, enhancing safety and energy efficiency of the buildings, modernization of engineering systems, and accessibility for people with disabilities.

In addition to the restoration of monuments, there are plans to establish the Odesa UNESCO Heritage Management Center — an institution that will coordinate the preservation of sites listed as World Heritage.

The grant will be implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in coordination with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI) and in collaboration with Ukrainian ministries, the Odesa Regional Military Administration, and the city council.

Furthermore, the Regional Military Administration reported that Italy will allocate €6 million for the reconstruction of two irrigation systems in the Odesa region. The implementation of this project will modernize the irrigation systems, reduce water losses, and increase crop yields of grains and vegetables by up to 50%.