UNESCO in Tuscany

The Historic Centre of Florence was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982. The justification for its inscription is contained within the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value, which articulates the criteria for inscription of the site, its integrity, authenticity and the management system for its protection. The Historic Centre of Florence is considered to be a unique artistic achievement embedding museums, churches, palaces and globally renowned cultural goods of inestimable value. The city has also been able to exert an important cultural, economic and architectural influence in Italy and Europe for centuries, defining itself as the birthplace of modern Humanism and Renaissance values. The stratification of these values is also enriched by the relationship between the Historic Centre and the surrounding hills, which form a perfect harmonious backstage.

The Core Zone inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982 coincides with the Historic Centre of Florence, traditionally identified with the area included within the avenues corresponding to the ancient circle of the fourteenth-century walls. In 2021, a boundary modification of the perimeter was approved to include the complex of San Miniato al Monte and the surrounding area. The Buffer Zone of the site encompasses the eighteen Belvedere points and includes part of the territories of four municipalities: the Municipality of Florence, the Municipality of Sesto Fiorentino, the Municipality of Fiesole and the Municipality of Bagno a Ripoli.  

Cultural and/or natural significance that is so exceptional that it transcends national boundaries and is of common importance to present and future generations of humanity as a whole, constituting the fundamental requirement for the inscription of porperties on the World Heritage List. The properties  deemed to hold Outstanding Universal Value can be included in the World Heritage List if:

• They satisfy one or more Selection Criteria;
• They respect the conditions of Integrity and Authenticity;
• They have an adequate Protection and Management System to ensure their safeguarding