JERUSALEM, May 17, 2012 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Heritage Museum at Dar al-Tifel al-Arabi in East Jerusalem reopened Thursday in ceremonies attended by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and the Assessor for Cooperation at the Italian Province of Pisa, Silvia Pagnin, as representative of the Italian partners of the project Istituzione Centro Nord –Sud.

The museum intends to preserve and empower the Palestinian cultural and identity heritage and to train and retrain the museum’s staff, said a press release by the Italian Cooperation in Jerusalem.

Within the museum’s rooms, many valuable traditional Palestinian dresses and precious jewellery, until now preserved in storage room, were exhibited to the public.

The project, for a total budget of approximately 400,000 euros, has foreseen the participation of an Italian partnership which has implemented, with the support of the local staff, courses on conservation and restoration of antique textiles, jewellery and manuscripts.

The re-opening of the museum is part of the activities promoted by the Palestinian Municipalities Support Program within the framework of the Preservation and Cultural heritage Sector in Jerusalem, Tulkarem, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates.

The project “Empowering Dar Al-Tifel Museum and Dar Isaaf Al-Nashashibi” is funded by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem- through the Palestinian Municipalities Support Program (PMSP) and co-funded by Pisa Province, Istituzione Centro Nord –Sud and Dar El Tifl Al Arabi.

M.S.