The Porticoes of Bologna have been inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. This was announced on Twitter by the UN agency for Education, Science and Culture, accompanying the announcement with congratulations in Italian: “Bravo”.
Symbol of the city together with the two Towers, the arcades of Bologna reach 42 km in the historic center but reach 62 km if you count those of the areas outside the city. The first were built autonomously in the early Middle Ages; but the conformation that appears today was designed starting from 1288, leaving the burden of building the arcades to private individuals, which had to respect very precise rules valid for everyone.
Not all the 62 km had been candidates, but the 12 sections selected with careful research between the central and the more peripheral ones and recognized as “an identifying element of the city of Bologna, both by the community and by visitors”, ” a point of reference for a sustainable urban lifestyle, in which religious and civil spaces and homes of all social classes are perfectly integrated “, as stated in the motivation. And in fact the Porticoes make the city of Bologna unique in the world, a new urban space, both public and private, a place for socializing, meetings and businesses, an open-air lounge, the very symbol of Bolognese hospitality.
The mayor of Bologna, Virginio Merola, rejoices, who speaks of “immense satisfaction and great recognition” which makes everyone very happy: “The inclusion of the porticoes of Bologna among the UNESCO world heritage sites is the achievement of a goal to time pursued and it is the recognition of the great work of recent years carried out by the deputy mayor Valentina Orioli and by the whole structure that has dedicated passion, competence and relationship skills to this cause “.
Unesco, meeting from 16 to 31 July, is analyzing the applications for inclusion in the World Heritage list, both those that arrived in the year 2021 and those that could not be studied in 2020.
Bologna, Unesco heritage arcades: “Immense satisfaction”
“An immense satisfaction and a great recognition that makes us happy. The inclusion of the porticoes of Bologna among the UNESCO world heritage sites is the achievement of a long-pursued goal and is the recognition of the great work of these years carried out by the deputy mayor Valentina Orioli and by the whole structure that has dedicated passion, competence and relationship skills to this cause “: declares the mayor of Bologna, Virginio Merola, after hearing the news of the inclusion of the porticoes of Bologna in the World Unesco Heritage List.
“A big thank you – said Merola – to the Ministry of Culture, to Minister Dario Franceschini and to Undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni, to the Foreign Ministry with the councilor Paolo Bartorelli and to the Ambassador of Italy to Unesco Massimo Riccardo. This title – has concluded the mayor of the Emilian capital – represents a great honor and a great responsibility for Bologna, we will live up to this recognition “.