Unesco recommends including Venice on the list of endangered heritage

2023-07-31 17:55:00

A view taken on July 29, 2023 shows Venetians rowing down the Grand Canal in Venice. – UNESCO recommends that Venice be included in the list of World Heritage in Danger, since “insufficient” measures have been taken to fight against the deterioration of the site due, in particular, to mass tourism and climate change, according to a decision made public in July. January 31, 2023. UNESCO, the cultural wing of the UN, included Venice on its heritage list in 1987 as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece,” but the body warned of the need for “more sustainable tourism management “. (Photo by MARCO SABADÍN / AFP)

By Joris FIORITI

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) recommends including Venice on the list of world heritage in danger, since the measures implemented by the authorities are “insufficient” to deal with mass tourism and the impacts of climate change.

“The continued development [de Venecia]the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes in the outstanding universal value of the property”, considers the UN agency Heritage Center.

UNESCO warns that “sea level rise” and other “extreme weather events” linked to global warming “threaten” the “integrity” of the site.

It also refers to a high-rise “real estate” construction project on the outskirts of the center and warns that “they could have a significant negative visual impact.”

For Venice to be on the list, member states will have to vote a favor during a meeting of the World Heritage Committee scheduled for September 10-25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The organization considers that the measures taken by Italy are “insufficient” and that the resolution of these problems is blocked by “the absence of a common global strategic vision” and the “low efficiency and coordination” of the country’s authorities.

The United Nations agency hopes that the inclusion of Venice on the list of endangered heritage will achieve “a greater commitment and greater mobilization of local, national and international actors.”

A UN diplomat reminded AFP that when Unesco asked to include Venice on the list of endangered heritage in 2021, the Italian authorities were quick to announce a ban on large cruise ships entering the historic center of the city.

– “Outdoor museum” –

“But two years later, the progress made is insufficient and taking too long compared to the level of threat to the site,” he added. The measures adopted “are not advancing at the appropriate speed,” she stressed.

Environmental and cultural heritage advocates accuse cruise ships of causing large waves, which in turn erode the city’s foundations and threaten its fragile lagoon ecosystem.

Venice, founded in the 5th century, comprises 118 islets and becomes a great maritime power in the 10th century.

The city, one of the most visited in the world with daily peaks of up to 100,000 tourists who spend the night in it, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Its population, of about 50,000 inhabitants, is reduced annually.

“We are still too involved in mass tourism, and not in sustainable tourism, to the detriment of the local population. Venice must not become an open-air museum,” said the UNESCO diplomat.

Local authorities have been planning for years to implement an obligation to book your visit to the city in advance.

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© Agencia France-Presse