According to UNESCO experts, Italy is not doing enough to save the city from the effects of climate change and mass tourism. They have suggested that Venice and its lagoon be put on the organization’s list of World Heritage in Danger.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre’s experts regularly assess the condition of the 1,157 World Heritage sites managed by the UN Organization for Culture. During a conference in Riyadh in September, a committee of 21 UNESCO member states will assess more than 200 sites and determine which ones should be added to the list of sites at risk. The historic center of Odesa, Ukraine, Timbuktu, Mali, and several other locations in Syria, Iraq, and Libya are among the sites that the experts advise member states to put on the danger list, with nearly ten of these locations.
Kyiv and Lviv in Ukraine are two other locations that should be added to the danger list this year. UNESCO stated that the absence of a comprehensive shared strategic vision to safeguard the property in the long term, along with inadequate effectiveness in integrated and coordinated management involving all stakeholders, poses significant obstacles in addressing longstanding and crucial issues.
UNESCO also points out that the Italian government’s suggested corrective actions are “currently insufficient and not specific enough.” The document continues, stating that Italy “had not been communicating consistently and substantively since its last Committee session in 2021 when UNESCO had already threatened to blacklist Venice.”
The organization expresses its expectation that “such inscription will result in greater dedication and activation” of regional and national partners to address persistent problems. Reuters received a statement from a representative of the Venice municipality that the city “will carefully analyze the proposed judgment issued today by the Centre for UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee and will debate it with the government.”
Venice, renowned for its canals and historical buildings, has long struggled with the effects of heavy tourism, with 193,000 people crammed into the old town on a single day of the 2019 Carnival. The city has been planning to charge day-trippers to reduce the number of visitors but has been delayed by complaints.
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