Ceiling in 15th Century Convent Collapses in Italy During Wedding Reception, Injuring 30 People

Ceiling in 15th Century Convent Collapses in Italy During Wedding Reception, Injuring 30 People
Italian border police controls the traffic on the Slovenian-Italian border crossing in Rozna Dolina, near Nova Gorica, Slovenia, on Oct. 25, 2023, four days after Italy reinstated controls. (Jure Makovec/AFP via Getty Images)
The Associated Press
1/14/2024
Updated:
1/14/2024
0:00

ROME—Thirty people were injured when a ceiling collapsed during a wedding reception Saturday evening in a former, centuries-old convent in the countryside near Pistoia, a city in Italy’s Tuscany region, authorities said.

Gov. Eugenio Giani said in a post on the Telegram messaging channel that five of the injured were in critical condition. The reception was being held in a restaurant at an events venue on a hilltop that once was a convent dating back to the 15th century.

The injured were taken to several hospitals in the area, including in Florence, the governor said.

Firefighters pulled people out from under the rubble, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

No one was reported missing.

Cause of the collapse had not yet been determined, officials said.