8-10 Nobember, Rome, 7th National Conference of Italian Sites Registered in the World Heritage List of UNESCO

With the organisation of the Seventh Conference of the Italian sites registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism intends to reactivate the periodic and regular organisation of meetings and debates. All subjects involved in conservation and management of this extraordinary heritage will partake in such events, in a path that has always seen the collaboration between national and international institutions.

This year, the National Conference wants to give space to the reflection that accompanies the start of the institution of the Observatory on the Italian World Heritage Sites, which the MiBACT intends to build alongside and with the support of the activities of the UNESCO Office, which operates at the General Secretariat.

An Observatory to monitor, understand, evaluate, and guide. With the growing number of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, it becomes mandatory to raise awareness of the need for a place to carry out a broader reflection on the role of this heritage and on the measures necessary to protect it. The Convention actualises such awareness through paths that give way to more recent deliberations on the role of culture and its social and economic repercussions. These themes are connected to the broader debate on the links between the different cultural expressions – material and immaterial – and issues related to cultural diversity and sustainable development. These are at the centre of the agendas of organisations associated with the United Nations, namely UNESCO.

The Observatory, promoted by MiBACT, wants to be conceived as a place of integration and contact
– on the management of World Heritage
– between the various administrative levels of government and the institutions involved in the management of UNESCO World Heritage sites, universities and other research institutions, as well as with the professional and representative sectors of civil society

The cultural heritage, of which the Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List represent excellence, is by now unanimously recognised as a resource for the communities that possess it. To ascribe in the category “resources,” the cultural heritage implies, regarding sustainability, use of resources that do not jeopardise their availability for future generations. That is: the resource must be conserved, and it must be regenerated.
Knowing how to identify and strengthen mechanisms capable of combining conservation and the continuous regeneration of cultural resources implies the ability to develop policies capable not only of preserving material testimonies but also of creating a new culture. Therefore, without prejudice to the priority of the conservation of heritage in its material consistency, as a necessary condition for the transmission of values, the recognition of the multidimensionality of cultural phenomena draws attention to the importance of management.
Beyond the theoretical reflections, this capacity requires operational tools that allow data and analysis to be able to govern the processes from adequate cognitive elements. It is a question of translating the needs of “evidence-based” policies into solid actions.

At this stage, three distinct areas of activity are envisaged for the Observatory:
– monitor the status of Italian UNESCO sites, through the systematisation of information and primary data, already known and available, related to the description of each site (perimeters, maps, management systems, etc.) to its state of conservation, to its activity;
– measure and evaluate the impacts of the strategies and actions implemented at the various levels;
– apply and promote initiatives, surveys, and studies on specific topics related to the issues associated with the implementation of the 1972 Convention, in the broader connections and integrations.

The Conference, starting from the speeches made by experts in the various operational areas of the Observatory, will be divided into successive discussion tables that will be set up on specific themes and/or areas of affinity to the sites. As such, the representatives/ site managers of the Italian World Heritage sites will be able to debate based on their experiences.

The results of the talks will succeed into the final discussion, from which the conclusions of the Conference will be drawn. They will then be recomposed in a final document.

The Conference will also be preceded by a series of preparatory meetings on the occasion of international assemblies. The meetings will serve as an opportunity to discuss pertinent topics in detail. Particular attention will be given to questions on conservation status, territorial planning, impact analysis, integration of territorial cultural offer, and management of tourist flows.

The Historic Centre of Florence has participated in the National Conference of the Italian sites enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage List, to present the Management Plan 2016.

Source (in Italian): MiBACT