Meeting in Riyadh, the World Heritage Committee decided this Thursday not to list the city of Venice as a world heritage site in danger, going against the recommendations of UNESCO experts.
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“ The World Heritage Committee – the governing body of the World Heritage Convention made up of 21 Member States representing the 195 States Parties to the Convention – today took the decision not to inscribe Venice and its lagoon on the Heritage List in danger », indicated Unesco in a press release. “ This decision takes into account the progress made in recent days by UNESCO, in particular the establishment from 2024 of a visitor flow management system. », Specified a diplomat to AFP.
Even though its case was being discussed by UNESCO, the city of Venice very opportunely decided on Tuesday to introduce on a trial basis from 2024 a tax of five euros that tourists will have to pay spending only one day in the City of the Doges. The main objective of this measure is to deter these day visitors who contribute to congesting a city famous around the world for its works of art, its bridges and its canals. In 2024, this tax payable online will only concern a maximum of thirty days during which the number of tourists is traditionally higher.
Lobbying
As soon as Unesco announced that Venice had escaped the infamous classification, the Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiulano was quick to greet “ a victory for Italy and common sense “. This decision by the World Heritage Committee is a relief for Venice and the Italian authorities, who have thus seen their lobbying work with UNESCO succeed, observes our correspondent in Rome, Eric Senanque. The downgrading of the Serenissima was prevented by long and patient work which mobilized the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the Veneto region and of course the municipality of Venice.
In Riyadh, the deputy mayor of Venice, but also the environmental manager of the municipality, helped by the Italian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, finished convincing the committee. The municipality of Venice specified that the decision not to classify the city and its lagoon on the list of heritage in danger had been taken unanimously. “ A team game and an extraordinary result » welcomed the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè. In addition to this tourist tax, Italian officials have highlighted the Mose system, these mechanical dikes which help protect Venice from high tides. “ UNESCO understands that the city faces significant challenges linked to the complexity of its ecosystem », further underlined Gennaro Sangiuliano.
Venice, however, is not completely out of the woods. The World Heritage Committee has in fact reiterated its concerns regarding the significant challenges that remain to be met for the proper conservation of the site, particularly linked to mass tourism, development projects and climate change. He believes that further progress must be made. The Committee further requested Italy “ to invite an advisory mission from the World Heritage Center (…) and submit a report by 1 February 2024, so that the state of conservation of the site can be examined again during the 46th session of the Committee in the summer 2024 “.
Measures deemed insufficient
However, at the end of July, UNESCO recommended the “endangered” classification of Venice, a jewel threatened by too much tourism and global warming, due to measures “ insufficient » taken in Italy to fight against the deterioration of this site. Venice has been postponing the taking of drastic measures for years, in particular the establishment of compulsory reservations and the quota on the number of entries to stem the surge of millions of tourists in the saturated historic center.
UNESCO experts estimated that “ continued development (of Venice), the impacts of climate change and mass tourism » threatened to “ cause irreversible changes to the outstanding universal value of the property “. The most frustrated by this decision of the Committee undoubtedly remain the Venetians themselves: more than 4,000 of them had signed a petition for their city to be declared heritage in danger.
Venice, an island city founded in the 5th century and becoming a great maritime power in the 10th century, extends over 118 islets. This exceptional site was included in the World Heritage list by UNESCO in 1987. The Serenissima is one of the most visited cities in the world. At peak attendance, 100,000 tourists sleep there, in addition to tens of thousands of day visitors. Compare to the approximately 50,000 inhabitants of the city center, which continues to depopulate.
(And with AFP)