UNESCO: Venice Should Be Listed As Endangered

UNESCO has proposed adding one of Italy's most visited and vulnerable tourist attractions to its list of endangered historic sites.

Venice has been struggling with too many visitors as well as with the consequences of global warming for years. In this regard, the UN has recently called on the Italian authorities to address these "long-standing concerns."

The United Nations has recognized 1,157 sites throughout the globe as having "outstanding universal value" owing to their cultural or ecological significance. Of course, Venice is one of them.

The World Heritage Committee will be meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September for its 45th session, and UNESCO and its specialists have included a request to add the Italian city to the World Heritage in Danger list, as the advisory body believes that not enough progress has been made to tackle persistent and difficult concerns connected to over-tourism and climate change.

According to the proposed resolution, the city's problems include but are not limited to degradation to building infrastructure, eroding the historical and social significance of the resources, and compromising the authenticity of its ecological values.

During the past few years, Venice has been forced to endure an up-and-down ride of issues relating to the weather. In the midst of a severe drought in February of this year, numerous canals were impassable to watercraft such as gondolas, water taxis, and even ambulances. The November 2019 floods were so severe that they threatened historic structures and artefacts.

UNESCO has taken notice of the measures taken by the municipality, such as the prohibition of big ships from accessing the San Marco Basin - Giudecca Canal, to address the problem of over-tourism, which threatens to bring profound changes to the city's OUV.

“[We] will carefully read the proposed decision published today by the Center for UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee and will exchange views with the government, which is the State Party with which UNESCO interacts,” stated the Municipality of Venice.

The Italian Ministry of Culture and the Italian Ministry of Tourism have not issued any comments on the matter so far.

 

Source: cnn.com