Inclusion in Unesco’s World Heritage list has become a coveted target as the status is said to bring more visitors to a destination. So every year, decisions made by the Unesco World Heritage Committee, which reviews additions to the list, are awaited with much anticipation.
To be part of Unesco’s World Heritage list, a site must be deemed of “outstanding universal value.”
Each country has a National Commission devoted to the nomination of Unesco sites to be presented to the Committee. Each year, the National Commission examines the applications of various sites already in Unesco’s Tentative List and chooses which ones should be forwarded to Unesco for consideration. Each Commission can only pitch two nominees a year.
Nominations will be approved or rejected by Unesco in July, at the annual meeting which this year takes place in Azerbaijan.
Here are the 2019 nominees for Italy:
The Mediterranean Alps: a natural site that comprises three countries, Italy, France and Monaco. It includes a vast area of the northwestern Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria, France and Monaco, in part already protected by parks, including the Maritime Alps Natural Park, the Mercantour National Park, the Hanbury Regional Gardens Protected Area. The area is considered of global importance because of its unique geological history and its wealth of biodiversity.
The Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (Veneto region): this site, which had been nominated last year but rejected, is being presented again this year with a new dossier meant to respond to doubts by the Unesco commission, which, in 2018, was unsure about the uniqueness and preservation - requested parameters for inclusion in the list - of this territory, where the famous Prosecco wine is made.
For 2020, Italy is expected to put forward the following nominations:
Padova Urbs Picta. Giotto, the Scrovegni Chapel and the 14th-Century Painting Cycles: this site includes Padua’s extraordinary monuments from the 14th century, where Giotto and his followers left their mark. They include the Scrovegni Chapel, Palazzo della Ragione, Baptistery of the Cathedral, Basilica del Santo, and more.
Great Spas of Europe: this is a group nomination that includes historical spa sites in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, United Kingdom and Czech Republic. For Italy, the candidate is Montecatini Terme in Tuscany.
