Venice is facing “a real danger”. Measures “insufficient” which 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”. This decision was made public on Monday July 31 by the World Heritage Center – a branch 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”.
“The further development [de Venise]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 ” buildings “ Tops, “likely to have a significant negative visual impact”should be built away from the city center, the“sea level rise” and others “extreme weather events” related to global warming “threaten” I’” integrity “ of the site, continues Unesco in a notice posted online on Monday.
Solving these problems “old but urgent” East “hampered by the lack of a common overall strategic vision” and the “low efficiency and coordination” Italian local and national authorities, points out the World Heritage Centre.
The fragile ecosystem of the lagoon is threatened
“In 2021, we had already recommended inscription on the list of World Heritage in Danger. Without waiting, the Italian authorities had announced the prohibition of access to the lagoon for the largest cruise ships, and had told us that for the rest they were going to follow the measures. prescribed by Unesco, said a UN diplomat to Agence France-Presse.
“But two years later, while some progress has been made, it is insufficient and too slow compared to the level of threat facing the site”, added the diplomat. Measures taken in Italy “not going at the right speed”.
Environmental and cultural heritage advocates say the big waves generated by the largest cruise liners, hundreds of meters long and several stories high, are eroding the foundations of the Serenissima and threatening the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon. .
Venice, one of the most visited cities in the world
Venice, an island city founded in the Ve century, which became a great maritime power in the 10the century, extends over 118 islets, according to Unesco, of which it joined the World Heritage in 1987.
Online courses, evening courses, workshops: develop your skills
Discover
“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 depopulate.
“We are still too much in mass tourism, and not sustainable tourism, to the detriment of the population. Venice must not turn into an open-air museum”, comments the Unesco diplomat quoted above. Local authorities have been talking for years about introducing compulsory booking for tourists, but are not doing it.
The lagoon is also vulnerable to high tides, which regularly flood Saint Mark’s Square and weaken the foundations of its buildings. A system of artificial dikes, named Mose (Moses in Italian), was built to limit their impact.