UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.When Egypt built the Aswan Dam it would have covered important ancient ruins under the waters of the Lake Nasser. It took an international effort to have those sites removed piece by piece and relocated to the safety of other locations or museums. From this situation arose the concept of creating a movement to prevent other important historical sites of humanity from being lost forever.World Heritage Sites fall under two classications, cultural or natural. Each need to meet certain criteria to become a World Heritage Site. Cultural sites are usually associated with a recorded history of the human race. It may be buildings, masterpieces of art, historical remnants of  past civilizations and human achievements presently in existence. Natural sites are places of natural phenomena or traces of natural events that record earths natural history and evolving process.

Sites must have some qualifying criteria to be nominated and inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

I. To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

II. o exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

III. To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

IV. To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

V. To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;

VI. To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

VII. To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;

VIII. o be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;

IX. To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

Today over 186 United Nation member countries and 4 non-members support the convention concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage. Since its beginning in 1972 the World Heritage list has grown to 1154 properties in 167 countries or states. 422 of those sites are located in Europe and Italy has the more sites than any other country in the world with 58.