UNESCO recommends placing Venice on the World Heritage List in Danger

Venice is facing “a proven danger”. The “insufficient” measures that have been taken by Italy to combat the deterioration of the site mean that UNESCO “recommends its inclusion on the list of World Heritage in Danger”. The decision was made public on Monday 31 July by the World Heritage Center – an arm of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – which hopes that “this inscription will lead to greater commitment and greater mobilization of local, national and international actors”.

“Continued development [of Venice], the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to the Outstanding Universal Value of the property,” explains the World Heritage Center. This recommendation will be voted on in September by the Member States of Unesco.

While “tall buildings” “likely to have a significant negative visual impact” should be built away from the city center, “sea level rise” and other “extreme weather events” linked to global warming “threaten” the “integrity” of the site, continues Unesco in a notice posted online on Monday.

The resolution of these “old but urgent” problems is “hindered by the absence of an overall common strategic vision” and the “low efficiency and coordination” of Italian local and national authorities, further points out the World Heritage Center.

Venice, one of the most visited cities in the world

The opinion of the latter, which considers that the measures taken by Italy are “insufficient”, is for the moment indicative. For Venice to be included on the list of World Heritage in Danger, it will need the approval of the Member States present at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee, which will be held from September 10 to 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Venice, an island city founded in the 5th century, which became a great maritime power in the 10th century, extends over 118 islets, according to Unesco, of which it became a World Heritage Site in 1987.

“Venice as a whole is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece, as even the smallest monument contains works by some of the greatest artists in the world, such as Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and others,” explains the UN organization.

It is also one of the most visited cities in the world. During peak times, 100,000 tourists sleep there, to which are added tens of thousands of daily visitors. To be compared to the approximately 50,000 inhabitants of the city center, which continues to be depopulated.