UNESCO recommends placing Venice on the list of World Heritage in Danger, after “insufficient” measures have been taken to combat the deterioration of the site due in particular to mass tourism and climate change, according to a decision made public Monday. “The 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”, notes the World Heritage Center, a branch of Unesco (Organization of the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture).
This recommendation will be voted on in September by the Member States of Unesco.
“A real danger”
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 climate “threaten” the “integrity” of the site, continues Unesco in a notice posted online Monday. The resolution of these “old but urgent” problems is “hindered by the absence of a global common strategic vision” and the “low efficiency and coordination” of Italian local and national authorities, further points out the World Heritage Center.
Venice being faced with “a proven danger”, it “recommends its inscription on the list of World Heritage in Danger”, hoping that “this inscription will lead to greater commitment and greater mobilization of local, national and international actors. “. The opinion of the Heritage Center, which considers that the measures taken by Italy are “insufficient”, is for the moment indicative. For Venice to be included on the list of heritage in danger, it will require 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.
Venice included in the World Heritage in 1987
Venice, an island city founded in the 5th century, which became a great maritime power in the 10th century, covers 118 islets, according to Unesco, which it included as World Heritage in 1987. “Venice as a whole is an extraordinary masterpiece. “architectural work because 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. At peak attendance, 100,000 tourists sleep there, in addition to tens of thousands of daily visitors. To be compared to some 50,000 inhabitants of the city center, which continues to be depopulated.