MILAN:  Officials say they have closed an entrance to Pompeii and access to some sites after a piece of stone fell from a support column in an ancient house, the latest collapse to plague the popular tourist site.

Pompeii officials said in a statement Saturday that access to the Romulus and Remus house was temporarily suspended and that the Porta Marina entrance has been closed as a precaution. Visitors were being allowed to enter through another gate.

The ancient Roman city, encased in volcanic ash near Mount Vesuvius, has suffered numerous collapses of walls and buildings in recent years, attracting international attention to Italy's difficulties in maintaining its cultural treasures.