Unesco World Heritage Sites in Italy: Index

Unesco sites in Italy by region
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN ITALY

With forty properties, Italy has more inscribed on the World Heritage List than any other country. The historical centers of
Florence, Rome, Pienza and Naples are all on the List. Italy also contributes to a number of heritage-related projects in Afghanistan
and Iraq. Italy's interest in heritage is also reflected in its UNESCO Chairs. Of the six Chairs in the country, two concern cultural
heritage: the Chair in Peace, Cultural Development and Cultural Policies (established at the Jacques Maritain Institute in 1999) and
the Chair in Management of the Cultural Heritage in the Balkan and Danubian region (established at the University of Trieste in
2000). And in November 2005, the A Tenore song, which developed within the pastoral culture of Sardinia, was proclaimed a
Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. A Tenore is a very specific form of guttural polyphonic singing
performed by a group of four men. Italy joined UNESCO on January 27, 1948.
INDEX
Lombardia
Trentino A.A.
Veneto
Emilia Romagna
Toscana
Lazio
Basilicata
Sicilia
Piemonte
Friuli Venezia Giulia
Liguria
Marche
Umbria
Campania
Puglia
Sardegna
Intangible heritage
LOMBARDIA
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Valcamonica- Rock Drawings

Date of Inscription: 1979 Valcamonica, situated in the Lombardy plain, has one of the world's greatest collections
of prehistoric petroglyphs more than 140,000 symbols and figures carved in the rock over a period of 8,000 years
and depicting themes connected with agriculture, navigation, war and magic.
file:///C|/italiantourism/unesco2-111111.html (1 of 15)10/25/2010 1:45:16 PM
Milan-Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The

Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci
Date of Inscription: 1980 The refectory of the Convent
of Santa Maria delle Grazie forms an integral part of this
architectural complex, begun in Milan in 1463 and reworked
at the end of the 15th century by Bramante. On the north
wall is The Last Supper, the unrivalled masterpiece painted
between 1495 and 1497 by Leonardo da Vinci, whose work
was to herald a new era in the history of art.
Capriate di S.
Gervasio-Crespi
d'Adda
Date of
Inscription: 1995
Crespi d'Adda in Capriate San Gervasio in Lombardy is an outstanding
example of the 19th- and early 20th-century 'company towns' built in Europe
and North America by enlightened industrialists to meet the workers' needs.
The site is still remarkably intact and is partly used for industrial purposes,
although changing economic and social conditions now threaten its survival.
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Cultural Landscape

(Switzerland and Italy)
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes, brings together two
historic railway lines that cross the Swiss Alps through two passes. The Albula
was opened in 1904 and it is 67 km long, the Berlina 61 km. They are
provided of an important set of structures tunnels, covered galleries, viaducts
and bridges.. It constitutes an outstanding technical, architectural and environmental ensemble that had an important
social role: promoting the exchanges between mountain settlements.
PIEMONTE
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Turin-Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

Date of Inscription: 1997 When Emmanuel-Philibert, Duke
of Savoy, moved his capital to Turin in 1562, he began a vast
series of building projects (continued by his successors) to
demonstrate the power of the ruling house. This outstanding
complex of buildings, designed and embellished by the leading
architects and artists of the time, radiates out into the
surrounding countryside from the Royal Palace in the
'Command Area' of Turin to include many country residences
and hunting lodges.
Sacri Monti
Date of Inscription: 2003 The nine Sacri of northern Italy
are groups of chapels and other architectural features created
in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith. In addition to their symbolic
spiritual meaning, they are of great beauty by virtue of the skill with which they have been integrated into the
surrounding natural landscape of hills, forests and lakes. They also house much important artistic material in the form
of wall paintings and statuary.
TRENTINO A.A.
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Dolomiti
The site of the Dolomites comprises a mountain range in the northern Italian
Alps, numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 meters and cover 141,903
ha. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere, with
vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys.
A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular
landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by
steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms. It is
characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and
avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the
preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records.
FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA

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Aquileia-Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal

Basilica
Date of Inscription: 1998 Aquileia (in Friuli-Venezia

Giulia), one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the Early
Roman Empire, was destroyed by Attila in the mid-5th
century. Most of it still lies unexcavated beneath the fields,
and as such it constitutes the greatest archaeological
reserve of its kind. The patriarchal basilica, an outstanding
building with an exceptional mosaic pavement, played a key
role in the evangelization of a large region of central Europe.
VENETO
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Venice and its Lagoon Date of Inscription: 1987 Founded in the 5th century and spread over 118 small
islands, Venice became a major maritime power in the 10th century. The whole city is an extraordinary architectural
masterpiece in which even the smallest building contains works by some of the world's greatest artists such as
Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and others.
Vicenza-City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto

Date of Inscription: 1994 Founded in the 2nd century B.
C. in northern Italy, Vicenza prospered under Venetian rule
from the early 15th to the end of the 18th century. The work
of Andrea Palladio (150880), based on a detailed study of
classical Roman architecture, gives the city its unique
appearance. Palladio's urban buildings, as well as his villas,
scattered throughout the Veneto region, had a decisive
influence on the development of architecture. His work
inspired a distinct architectural style known as Palladian,
which spread to England and other European countries,
and also to North America.
Padua-Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico)

Date of Inscription: 1997 The world's first botanical
garden was created in Padua in 1545. It still preserves its original layout a circular central plot, symbolizing the world,
surrounded by a ring of water. Other elements were added later, some architectural (ornamental entrances and
balustrades) and some practical (pumping installations and greenhouses). It continues to serve its original purpose as
a centre for scientific research.
Verona-City of Verona
Date of Inscription: 2000 The historic city of Verona was founded in the 1st century B.C. It particularly flourished
under the rule of the Scaliger family in the 13th and 14th centuries and as part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th
to 18th centuries. Verona has preserved a remarkable number of monuments from antiquity, the medieval and
Renaissance periods, and represents an outstanding example of a military stronghold.
LIGURIA
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Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands

(Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)
Date of Inscription: 1997 The Ligurian coast

between Cinque Terre and Portovenere is a cultural
landscape of great scenic and cultural value. The
layout and disposition of the small towns and the
shaping of the surrounding landscape, overcoming
the disadvantages of a steep, uneven terrain,
encapsulate the continuous history of human
settlement in this region over the past millennium.
EMILIA ROMAGNA
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Ferrara- The City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta

Date of Inscription: 1995 Ferrara, which grew up around a ford over the
River Po, became an intellectual and artistic centre that attracted the greatest
minds of the Italian Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. Here, Piero
della Francesca, Jacopo Bellini and Andrea Mantegna decorated the palaces
of the House of Este. The humanist concept of the 'ideal city' came to life here
in the neighborhoods built from 1492 onwards by Biagio Rossetti according to
the new principles of perspective. The completion of this project marked the
birth of modern town planning and influenced its subsequent development.
Ravenna-Early Christian
Monuments
Date of Inscription: 1996 Ravenna
was the seat of the Roman Empire in
the 5th century and then of Byzantine
Italy until the 8th century. It has a
unique collection of early Christian
mosaics and monuments. All eight
buildings the Mausoleum of Galla
Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the
Arian Baptistery, the Archiepiscopal Chapel, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, the
Church of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe were
constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries. They show great artistic skill, including
a wonderful blend of Greco-Roman tradition, Christian iconography and oriental
and Western styles.
Modena-Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande

Date of Inscription: 1997 The magnificent 12th-century cathedral at Modena, the work of two great artists
(Lanfranco and Wiligelmus), is a supreme example of early Romanesque art. With its piazza and soaring tower, it
testifies to the faith of its builders and the power of the Canossa dynasty who commissioned it.
MARCHE
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Urbino-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1998 The small hill town of

Urbino, in the Marche, experienced a great cultural
flowering in the 15th century, attracting artists and
scholars from all over Italy and beyond, and influencing
cultural developments elsewhere in Europe. Owing to its
economic and cultural stagnation from the 16th century
onwards, it has preserved its Renaissance appearance to
a remarkable extent.
TOSCANA
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Florence-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1982
Built on the site of an Etruscan settlement, Florence, the
symbol of the Renaissance, rose to economic and cultural
preeminence under the Medici in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Its 600 years of extraordinary artistic activity can be seen
above all in the 13th-century cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore),
the Church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace, the
work of great masters such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli
and Michelangelo.
Pisa-Piazza del Duomo
Date of Inscription: 1987 Standing in a large green expanse, Piazza del Duomo houses a group of monuments
known the world over. These four masterpieces
of medieval architecture the cathedral, the
baptistery, the campanile (the 'Leaning Tower')
and the cemetery had a great influence on
monumental art in Italy from the 11th to the 14th
century.
San Gimignano-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1990 'San Gimignano
delle belle Torri' is in Tuscany, 56 km south of
Florence. It served as an important relay point
for pilgrims traveling to or from Rome on the Via
Francigena. The patrician families who controlled
the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as
high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its
feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art.
Pienza-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1996 It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into
practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace. He chose the architect Bernardo
Rossellino, who applied the principles of his mentor, Leon Battista
Alberti. This new vision of urban space was realized in the superb
square known as Piazza Pio II and the buildings around it: the
Piccolomini Palace, the Borgia Palace and the cathedral with its pure
Renaissance exterior and an interior in the late Gothic style of south
German churches.
Siena-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1995 Siena is the embodiment of a medieval
city. Its inhabitants pursued their rivalry with Florence right into the
area of urban planning. Throughout the centuries, they preserved their
city's Gothic appearance, acquired between the 12th and 15th
centuries. During this period the work of Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers
and Simone Martini was to influence the course of Italian and, more
broadly, European art. The whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza
del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the
surrounding landscape.
Val d'Orcia
Date of Inscription: 2004 The landscape of Val d'Orcia is part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, re-drawn and
developed when it was integrated in the territory of the city-state in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized
model of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape's distinctive aesthetics, flat
chalk plains out of which rise almost conical hills with fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images
have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. The inscription covers: an
agrarian and pastoral landscape reflecting innovative land management systems; towns and villages; farmhouses; and
the Roman Via Francigena
UMBRIA
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Assisi -The Basilica of San Francesco and Other

Franciscan Sites
Date of Inscription: 2000 Assisi, a medieval city built on a hill, is

the birthplace of Saint Francis, closely associated with the work of
the Franciscan Order. Its medieval art masterpieces, such as the
Basilica of San Francesco and paintings by Cimabue, Pietro
Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto, have made Assisi a
fundamental reference point for the development of Italian and
European art and architecture.
LAZIO
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Rome-Historic Centre of Rome, the

Properties of the Holy See and San
Paolo Fuori le Mura
Date of Inscription: 1980 Founded,
according to legend, by Romulus and Remus
in 753 B.C., Rome was first the centre of the
Roman Republic, then of the Roman Empire,
and it became the capital of the Christian
world in the 4th century. The World Heritage
site, extended in 1990 to the walls of Urban
VIII, includes some of the major monuments
of antiquity such as the Forums, the
Mausoleum of Augustus, the Mausoleum of
Hadrian, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column and
the Column of Marcus Aurelius, as well as the
religious and public buildings of papal Rome.
Tivoli-Villa Adriana
Date of Inscription: 1999 The Villa
Adriana (at Tivoli, near Rome) is an
exceptional complex of classical buildings
created in the 2nd century A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian. It combines the best elements of the architectural
heritage of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an 'ideal city'.
Cerveteri , Tarquinia-Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
Date of Inscription: 2004 These two large Etruscan cemeteries reflect different types of burial practices from the
9th to the 1st century BC, and bear witness to the achievements of Etruscan culture. The necropolis near Cerveteri,
known as Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares and
neighborhoods. The site contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli; and some, also carved in
rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. These provide the only surviving evidence of
Etruscan residential architecture. The

necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as
Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut in
the rock. It is famous for its 200 painted
tombs, the earliest of which date from
the 7th century BC.
Tivoli-Villa DEste, Tivoli
Date of Inscription: 2001 The Villa
d'Este in Tivoli, with its palace and
garden, is one of the most remarkable
and comprehensive illustrations of
Renaissance culture at its most refined.
Its innovative design along with the
architectural components in the garden
(fountains, ornamental basins, etc.)
makes this a unique example of an
Italian 16th-century garden. The Villa
d'Este, one of the first giardini delle
meraviglie, was an early model for the
development of European gardens.
CAMPANIA
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Naples-Historic Centre
Date of Inscription: 1995 From the Neapolis founded by Greek settlers in 470 B.C. to the city of today, Naples has
retained the imprint of the successive cultures that emerged in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. This makes it a
unique site, with a wealth of outstanding monuments such as the Church of Santa Chiara and the Castel Nuovo.
Pompei, Herculanum, Torre Annunziata - Archaeological Areas
Date of Inscription: 1997 When Vesuvius erupted on 24
August A.D. 79, it engulfed the two flourishing Roman towns
of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as the many wealthy
villas in the area. These have been progressively excavated
and made accessible to the public since the mid-18th century.
The vast expanse of the commercial town of Pompeii
contrasts with the smaller but better-preserved remains of the
holiday resort of Herculaneum, while the superb wall paintings
of the Villa Oplontis at Torre Annunziata give a vivid
impression of the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the wealthier
citizens of the Early Roman Empire.
Costiera Amalfitana
Date of Inscription: 1997 The Amalfi coast is an area of
great physical beauty and natural diversity. It has been
intensively settled by human communities since the early Middle Ages. There are a number of towns such as Amalfi
and Ravello with architectural and artistic works of great significance. The rural areas show the versatility of the
inhabitants in adapting their use of the land to the diverse nature of the terrain, which ranges from terraced vineyards
and orchards on the lower slopes to wide upland pastures.
Caserta-18th-Century Royal Palace with the

Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and the San
Leucio Complex
Date of Inscription: 1997 The monumental complex at
Caserta, created by the Bourbon king Charles III in the
mid-18th century to rival Versailles and the Royal Palace
in Madrid, is exceptional for the way in which it brings
together a magnificent palace with its park and gardens,
as well as natural woodland, hunting lodges and a silk
factory. It is an eloquent expression of the Enlightenment
in material form, integrated into, rather than imposed on,
its natural setting.
Cilento and Vallo di Diano - National Park with
the Archeological sites of Paestum and Velia,
and the Certosa di Padula
Date of Inscription: 1998 The Cilento is an outstanding cultural landscape. The dramatic groups of sanctuaries
and settlements along its three east west mountain ridges vividly portray the area's historical evolution: it was a major
route not only for trade, but also for cultural and political interaction during the prehistoric and medieval periods. The
Cilento was also the boundary between the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia and the indigenous Etruscan and
Lucanian peoples. The remains of two major cities from classical times, Paestum and Velia, are found there.
BASILICATA
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Matera- I Sassi
Date of Inscription: 1993 This is the most
outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in
the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain
and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the
Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of
significant stages in human history. Matera is in the
southern region of Basilicata.
PUGLIA
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Castel del Monte The Castle
Date of Inscription: 1996 When the Emperor

Frederick II built this castle near Bari in the 13th century,
he imbued it with symbolic significance, as reflected in
the location, the mathematical and astronomical
precision of the layout and the perfectly regular shape. A
unique piece of medieval military architecture, Castel del
Monte is a successful blend of elements from classical
antiquity, the Islamic Orient and north European
Cistercian Gothic.
Alberobello - The Trulli

Date of Inscription: 1996 The trulli, limestone dwellings found in
the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall
(mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use
in this region. The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone
boulders collected from neighboring fields. Characteristically, they
feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled
limestone slabs.
SICILIA
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Agrigento - Archaeological Area

Date of Inscription: 1997 Founded as a Greek colony in
the 6th century B.C., Agrigento became one of the leading
cities in the Mediterranean world. Its supremacy and pride are
demonstrated by the remains of the magnificent Doric temples
that dominate the ancient town, much of which still lies intact
under today's fields and orchards. Selected excavated areas
throw light on the later Hellenistic and Roman town and the
burial practices of its early Christian inhabitants.
Piazza Armerina-Villa Romana del Casale
Date of Inscription: 1997 Roman exploitation of the
countryside is symbolized by the Villa Romana del Casale (in
Sicily), the centre of the large estate upon which the rural
economy of the Western Empire was based. The villa is one of
the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the
richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost
every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world.
Aeolian Islands
Date of Inscription: 2000 The Aeolian Islands provide an outstanding record of volcanic island-building and
destruction, and ongoing volcanic phenomena. Studied since at least the 18th century, the islands have provided the
science of vulcanology with examples of two types of eruption (Vulcanian and Strombolian) and thus have featured
prominently in the education of geologists for more than 200 years. The site continues to enrich the field of Vulcan
logy.
Val di Noto-Late Baroque Towns
Date of Inscription: 2002 The eight towns in southeastern Sicily: Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania,
Modica, Noto, Palazzolo, Ragusa and Scicli, were all rebuilt
after 1693 on or beside towns existing at the time of the
earthquake which took place in that year. They represent a
considerable collective undertaking, successfully carried out at
a high level of architectural and artistic achievement. Keeping
within the late Baroque style of the day, they also depict
distinctive innovations in town planning and urban building.
Syracuse The city and the Rocky Necropolis of
Pantalica
Date of Inscription: 2005 The site consists of two
separate elements, containing outstanding vestiges dating
back to Greek and Roman times: The Necropolis of Pantalica
contains over 5,000 tombs cut into the rock near open stone
quarries, most of them dating from the 13th to 7th century B.C.
Vestiges of the Byzantine era also remain in the area, notably
the foundations of the Anaktoron (Prince's Palace). The other
part of the property, Ancient Syracuse, includes the nucleus of
the citys foundation as Ortygia by Greeks from Corinth in the
8th century B.C.
SARDEGNA
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Barumini- Su Nuraxi
Date of Inscription: 1997 During the late 2nd millennium
B.C. in the Bronze Age, a special type of defensive structure
known as nuraghi (for which no parallel exists anywhere else
in the world) developed on the island of Sardinia. The
complex consists of circular defensive towers in the form of
truncated cones built of dressed stone, with corbel-vaulted
internal chambers. The complex at Barumini, which was
extended and reinforced in the first half of the 1st millennium
under Carthaginian pressure, is the finest and most complete
example of this remarkable form of prehistoric architecture.
Intangible heritage Top

During the last years UNESCO has started a plan to emphasize and safeguard among with the tangible heritage the
intangible one too. In fact it was created a Intangible heritage list where are gathered a lot of particular, interesting
traditions, rituals, events strictly connected with the communities where these were born. Italy has, by now, two
intangible heritages examples.
Opera dei pupi. Sicily (2008)

Opera dei pupi is a very seated kinf of Sicilian puppet theatre. It
was born in 19th Century and it is still alive in Sicilian culture. The
plot of the shows is based on the medieval chivalry literature and
the dialogs are often improvised. The most important cities with a
tradition of pupi (decorated wooden puppets) are Palermo and
Catania. This kind of theatre is usually managed by entire families
that dedicate their lives to Opera dei pupi.
Canto a tenore. Sardinia (2008)

Canto a tenore is a kind of singing deeply seated in the pastoral
culture of Sardinia. It is form of polyphonic singing performed by a
group of four men that use four different voices called bassu, contra,
boche and mesu boche. One of its characteristics is the deep and
guttural timbre of the bassu and contra voices. It is performed
standing in a close circle. Canto a tenore is not a phenomenon
disconnected from the communities on the contrast is integral part
of them.
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Unesco sites in Italy by region