The World Heritage Committee today added four sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List and one extension to an existing transnational natural site in Europe.
The new cultural sites are located in Italy, Slovenia, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The natural site inscribed today is Ivindo National Park in Gabon. The World Heritage Committee also approved an extension to the existing World Heritage site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.
These additions were made during the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held online and chaired from Fuzhou (China), which is examining nominations from both 2020 and 2021.
Brief descriptions of the newly inscribed sites:
The Porticoes of Bologna
The serial property comprises twelve component parts consisting of ensembles of porticoes and their surrounding built areas, located within the Municipality of Bologna from the 12th century to the present. These portico ensembles are considered to be the most representative among city’s porticoes, which cover a total stretch of 62 km. Some of the porticoes are built of wood, others of stone or brick, as well as reinforced concrete, covering roads, squares, paths and walkways, either on one or both sides of a street. The property includes porticoed buildings that do not form a structural continuum with other buildings and therefore are not part of a comprehensive covered walkway or passage. The porticoes are appreciated as sheltered walkways and prime locations for merchant activities. In the 20th century, the use of concrete allowed the replacement of the traditional vaulted arcades with new building possibilities and a new architectural language for the porticoes emerged, as exemplified in the Barca district. Together, the selected porticoes reflect different typologies, urban and social functions and chronological phases. Defined as private property for public use, the porticoes have become an expression and element of Bologna’s urban identity.
Bosnia and Herzegovina / Czechia / France / Italy / North Macedonia / Poland / Slovakia / Switzerland, Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe [extension of “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”, inscribed in 2007, extensions in 2011 and 2017]
The extension of the transnational World Heritage serial site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe by ten European countries adds to the outstanding universal value and integrity of the property, which now comprises 94 component parts across 18 countries. The extended property represents an outstanding example of relatively undisturbed, complex temperate forests and exhibit a wide spectrum of comprehensive ecological patterns and processes of pure and mixed stands of European beech across a variety of environmental conditions.