UNESCO proposes Venice for endangered heritage list

The United Nations' cultural agency has made a recommendation for Venice to be included in its list of endangered world heritage sites and suggested that the Italian government increase its initiatives to preserve the historical city and its surrounding lagoon.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization warned that Venice was at risk of "irreparable" harm because of a variety of factors, including climate change, mass tourism and plans for high-rise buildings that could alter the view across the lagoon, Reuters reported.

Experts from the UNESCO World Heritage Center frequently assess the condition of its 1,157 World Heritage sites, and the proposal on Venice is due to be discussed at a meeting of its committee in September in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, where it may be adopted.

"The effects of the continuing deterioration due to human intervention, including continuing development, the impacts of climate change and mass tourism, threaten to cause irreversible changes to the outstanding universal value of the property," UNESCO said.

"Some of these long-standing issues have already led to the deterioration of the inherent characteristics of the property and its attributes."

Corrective measures suggested by Italy are "currently insufficient and not detailed enough", it said. Since its last committee session in 2021, when UNESCO had warned about potentially blacklisting Venice, Italy "has not been communicating in a sustained and substantive manner".

"Resolution of long-standing but urgent issues is hindered by a lack of overall joint strategic vision for the long-term preservation of the property and low effectiveness of integrated coordinated management at all stakeholder levels," it said.

Renowned for its canals and cultural landmarks, Venice has been grappling with the consequences of mass tourism for many years. Since August 2021, large cruise ships have been banned from the center, and Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has proposed restricting Airbnb rentals to manage tourist numbers.

A representative from the Venice municipality told Reuters the city will "carefully read the proposed decision" by UNESCO and will "discuss it with the government".

The UNESCO committee is also set to evaluate 53 new potential sites for inclusion in the World Heritage List at the Riyadh meeting, Agence France-Presse reported, noting that national delegations often deploy intense lobbying to secure or maintain the status for their sites.

UNESCO expressed hope that adding the Venice site to the danger list would "result in greater dedication and mobilization of local, national and international stakeholders".