(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 16 - Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Monday that the decree has been signed for the State to complete the acquisition of Villa Verdi, the home Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi had built at Sant'Agata, near Piacenza, and where he lived and worked in the latter years of his life.
    "Villa Verdi is a symbol of Italy's cultural greatness and the place where the maestro found inspiration for many of his immortal compositions," said Giuli.
    "Thanks to this important act, the State guarantees its preservation and returns it to the community as the heritage of everyone".
    Villa Verdi is not far from the composer's long-time home at Busseto and his birthplace in the tiny village of Le Roncole.
    Turned into a museum by Verdi's family, the villa has recently fallen into disrepair. (ANSA).