MONITORING OF THE 2016 MANAGEMENT PLAN AND APPLICATION TO THE NETWORK OF THE UNESCO CREATIVE CITIES – Crafts and Folk

On October 4, 2018, Florence presented to the press and to the President of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, Franco Bernabè, and to the Secretary-General, Enrico Vicenti, the Monitoring of the 2016 Management Plan of the Historic Centre of Florence as a World Heritage Site and the application process that Florence is following to join the Network of UNESCO Creative Cities for Crafts. The Press Presentation of the Creative City Application and the Monitoring of the Management Plan was held at 12:45 at Palazzo Vecchio, Sala di Cosimo.

Monitoring of the Management Plan

To ensure the effective implementation of the strategic actions for the World Heritage site and therefore of the Management Plan, it is essential to establish a monitoring system. Monitoring measures the progress and results of the Management Plan in order to provide information on what is happening in the World Heritage site and what has been achieved in the planned program.

For the World Heritage site “Historic Centre of Florence” it has been considered to carry out two-year monitoring, in the form of meetings with the actors (both public and private) of the projects of the 2016 Management Plan. The 33 projects monitored seek to mitigate the criticality of the World Heritage site and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 as well as the Strategic Goals of the World Heritage. They are relevant to the following Macro Areas: 1) Management of the tourism system; 2) Conservation and knowledge of the monumental heritage; 3) Transport system; 4) The River Arno and climate change; 5) Liveability, commerce and residence in the Historic Centre.

The projects monitored:

1.MANAGEMENT OF THE TOURIST SYSTEM

• TOURIST DESTINATION MONITORING CENTRE (OTD)
• FLORENCE GREENWAY
• STUDY OF THE LOAD CAPACITY OF THE HISTORIC CENTRE
• THE PATH OF THE PRINCE
• FIRENZECARD AND FIRENZECARD+

New Projects identified in the monitoring phase and to be added in the future revision of the Management Plan:

• DESTINATION FLORENCE
• MOBILE ANALYTICS

2. CONSERVATION AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE MONUMENTAL HERITAGE

• HECO (HEritage COlours)
• APPLICATION OF THE BUFFER ZONE
• NUOVI UFFIZI – WORKS OF ARCHITECTURAL AND STRUCTURAL RESTORATION, FUNCTIONAL ADAPTATION WITH THE INSTALLATION OF MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND SPECIAL SYSTEMS
• GRAPHITI KOMMANDO FIRENZE PERBENE
• FLORENCE I CARE
• FLORENCE HERITAGE

New Projects identified in the monitoring phase and to be added in the future revision of the Management Plan:

• HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT (HIA)
• TOWN PLANNING REGULATIONS
• FLORENCE AND THE CULTURAL INHERITANCE OF ITS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE
• HERITAGE FLORENCE DATA

3. TRANSPORT SYSTEM

• BIKE SHARING 2.0 (changed to: BIKE SHARING)
• Ele.C.Tra. (changed to: E-MOBILITY)
• LINES 2 AND 3 OF THE NEW TRAMWAY

4. THE RIVER ARNO AND CLIMATE CHANGE

• FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (PGRA)
• GUARDA IN FACCIA L’ALLUVIONE (FACE UP TO THE FLOOD)
• ARNO, UN FIUME PER AMICO (YOUR FRIEND THE RIVER ARNO)
• PROVISIONAL PLAN FOR THE HYDRAULIC RISK (PSRI)
• CIVIL DEFENCE OF THE MUNICIPAL MUSEUMS IN EMERGENCY

5. LIVEABILITY, COMMERCE AND RESIDENCE IN THE HISTORIC CENTRE

• FIRENZE VIVIBILE (LIVEABLE FLORENCE) – New measures for the protection of the Economic Activities of the World Heritage Historic Centre (changed to: REGULATION OF HISTORIC AND TRADITIONAL COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES)
• FIRENZE VIVIBILE (LIVEABLE FLORENCE) – Regulations for the Decorum of the World Heritage Historic Centre (changed to: MEASURES FOR ENSURING THE PROTECTION AND DECORUM OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE HISTORIC CENTRE – “UNESCO REGULATION”
• COMPLETION OF SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE FORMER MURATE COMPLEX
• OLTRARNO PROJECT

New Projects identified in the monitoring phase and to be added in the future revision of the Management Plan:

• URBAN SIGNAGE
• URBAN WASTE – Urban Strategies for Waste Management in Tourist Cities
• ATLASWH – Heritage in the Atlantic Area: Sustainability of the Urban World Heritage Sites

Florence’s application to the Network of the UNESCO Creative Cities – Craft and Folk 

In order to make creativity an engine for urban development and to devise new solutions to address common challenges, collaboration and sharing of knowledge and experience are essential. In this regard, in 2004 the UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created, currently consisting of 180 members from 72 countries covering seven creative fields: Music, Literature, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Multimedia Arts, Gastronomy, Cinema.

The main objective of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities is to promote cooperation between cities that have identified creativity and cultural industry as a strategic element for sustainable urban development. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is, therefore, a platform for reflection on the role of creativity as a lever for sustainable development, but also a fertile ground for action and innovation, in particular for the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

To become a member of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities, candidate cities must apply – by filling in the official Application Form accompanied by a letter of support from the Italian National Commission for UNESCO – which clearly demonstrates their willingness, commitment and ability to contribute to the network’s objectives and the creative field to which they devote their talent and energy.

Florence and its territory have always witnessed the continuity of the artisan tradition: from the Art of Wool to the Fablabs of new makers. Here there is the highest concentration of schools working on creativity since the thirties of the last century are organized continuously one of the oldest exhibitions dedicated to craftsmanship. Finally, in the territory, there is an important network of museums related to craftsmanship skills. Florentine craftsmanship, an integral part of the Authenticity status of the World Heritage Site of the Historic Centre of Florence (inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1982), is defined as concrete testimony and continuity with the local past, capable of perpetuating the historical image of the city” and therefore subject to the discipline of the Management Plan of the Historic Centre as World Heritage site.

After a participatory process led by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Fairs and Congresses, Territorial Marketing, the UNESCO Office of the City of Florence and the University of Florence, which involved several realities and schools related to creativity and craftsmanship, Florence presented its candidacy for Creative City for Crafts in 2019.