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UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to:

encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;

encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;

encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;

help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;

provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;

support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;

encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;

encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

Italy has more properties named on the World Heritage List than any other country. With over forty World Heritage sites listed, it isn't any wonder why history buffs and art lovers flock to Italy each year, making it one of the world's most popular vacation destinations.

But acquiring World Heritage status is not an easy feat because being named a World Hertiage Site is a title that is not handed out lightly. To be considered for the list, a proposal must be submitted to the World Heritage Committee. First and foremost, the proposal must explain why the site, cultural or natural, is of "outstanding universal value". Second, it must meet one of the following criteria:

II . to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

III. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

IV. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

V. to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;

VI. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);

VII. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

VIII. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;

IX. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;

X. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

The proposal must include a history of the intended site, argue why it is of universal historic value, and explain which criteria the site meets and how. The proposal is then reviewed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for consideration, a process that can take years.

During your tour with Esperia Travels, we will visit World Heritage sites in the cities of Ravenna and Ferrara. We will also spend some time walking under the famous porticoes of Bologna, which are currently being considered for World Heritage approval.

The Este ducal residences in the Po Delta illustrate the influence of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape in an exceptional manner. The Po Delta is an outstanding planned cultural landscape which retains its original form to a remarkable extent.

Our travels will take us deep into the watery, marshlands of the Po delta region, a World Heritage Site. These protected wetlands are home to hundreds of species of birds, including a few rare ones, and various aquatic life. We will drive into the heart of the Po delta, stopping to visit Comacchio, a sleepy fishing village that rests at the mouth of the lagoon. With canals, complete with footbridges and small boats, winding through the town, Comacchio is reminiscent of Venice but without the crowds. We will spend the morning exploring the village before settling in for a special seafood lunch.

Afterwards, we will head north through the Po delta to visit the Abbey of Pomposa. Once a thriving community, the monks abandoned the abbey when the course of the Po River shifted, causing the area to flood. Marshes overtook the land, making it the perfect breeding grounds for malaira. Today the marshes have been beaten back by years of drainage and cultivation, but the Abbey remains, along with a small palace and a 7^th century church adorned with frescoes. A local guide will meet us at the Abbey and take us for a tour of its historic buildlings.

Our World Heritage day doesn't end at Pomposa. As the sun sets across the Po delta, we will make our way to yet another World Heritage site, Ferrara. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Ferrara attracted the greatest minds of the Italian Renaissance, becoming an intellectual and artistic center and earning it the title of "The City of the Renaissance." UNESCO found so many jewels of historic significance in this city, that the entire historic center was declared a World Heritage Site. We will spend plenty of time in Ferrara, strolling through her medieval quarters, admiring her renaissance architecture, and enjoying the incredibly rich food that the city if famous for.

Justification for Inscription

The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural criteria and considering that the site is of outstanding universal value being of remarkable significance by virtue of the supreme artistry of the mosaic art that the monuments contain, and also because of the crucial evidence that they provide of artistic and religious relationships and contacts at an important period of European cultural history.

Criteria: (I)(II)(III)(IV)

Date of Inscription: 1996

If you are interested in art, history and jaw-dropping beauty, then Ravenna is the place of you; her early Christian monuments are all of these rolled into one. The Byzantine mosaics of her churches, baptistery and mausoleums are considered to be the best examples of Eastern art in the western hemisphere. They are also prime examples of early Christian art. We will spend several days exploring Ravenna, including a tour by a local guide who will take us on a walking tour of the city while giving us all the juicy details of Ravenna’s glorious past.

Justification for Outstanding Universal Value

The porticoes of Bologna can be regarded on the whole as unique from an architectural viewpoint in terms of their authenticity and integrity. Some of them, such as the St. Luke's portico, the Alemanni portico, the Isolani house, the Grossi house, the houses on Begatto Street are still composed of the same materials of which they had been originally built; in other porticoes the original building pattern has been retained. Indeed, even in the case of renovation works (as required to improve housing conditions) porticoes and their public use have always been left in place. For instance, the 1910 Regulations, as well as confirming the prohibition against using wooden pillars, also banned the restoration of old wooden pillars - unless the Municipality recognised that a building was of special interest from an artistic and/or historical standpoint.

Date of Submission: 01/06/2006
Criteria: (III)(IV)(V)
Category: Cultural
Submission prepared by:
Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Actives

Emilia Romgana’s capital has already been named “City of Music” by UNESCO for its historical and ongoing contributions in this field. Bologna now hopes to add another notch in its UNESCO belt. In January of 2006 the Minister of Heritage and Activities submitted a proposal requesting that the city’s famous porticoes be added to the World Heritage List.

The first porticoes were built in the 12^th century as a solution to the city's housing shortage problem. Lax building laws allowed for rooms to be attached to existing buildings, with the new rooms extending up and over the sidewalks. Today over 42 kilometers of porticoes line Bologna’s streets and cover her sidewalks, more than any other city in the world.

Italy is still waiting to hear if Bologna’s porticoes will be added to the World Heritage List. If they are, it will bring Emilia Romagna’s World Heritage total up to four listed sites.

Justification for Inscription

Criteria: (I)(II)(III)(IV)

Date of Inscription: 1996

Justification for Outstanding Universal Value