During its 41st Session which is currently taking place in Krakow, the World Heritage Committee adopted a Decision on the « Venice and its lagoon » site. The latter expresses satisfaction for the work of the Italian Government, the municipality of Venice and the local Authorities, which was carried out in close cooperation with the Italian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and the Italian National Commission for UNESCO.
The Committee took stock of the progress accomplished and acknowledged that, given the complexity of the site’s conservation, an adequate time frame is necessary before a technical evaluation of the solutions that have been put in place/are under study in order to respond to UNESCO’s concerns ( tourism management plan, cruisers’ access to San Marco’s basin, safeguarding local identities and traditions).
The Committee agreed to the opportunity of a large consensus among all institutions and concerned stock-holders.
Among its recommendations, the Decision calls for an update of the site’s conservation report reflecting all progress accomplished to date, to be submitted before December 1, 2018 in order to be presented to the 43rd Session of the World Heritage Committee in 2019.
This important result prompts the Italian Government and local Authorities to pursue their efforts aimed at protecting the “Venice and its lagoon” site, thirty years after its inscription in the World Heritage List.
