UNESCO labels Italy's Venice an endangered city

In a report made public on Monday, the cultural agency of the UN, UNESCO, suggested adding Venice to its list of World Heritage in Danger. 

The city had not advanced far enough in protecting itself from harm from mass tourism, climate change, and construction projects, it claimed, adding that Italy’s suggested solutions “are still insufficient.”

Some well-known Venetians disagreed with the “criticism” made by UNESCO. 

According to The New York Times, Renato Brunetta, a former minister who now heads a foundation aiming to make Venice the global capital of sustainability, the city is better prepared than most to handle the challenges of today thanks to initiatives like the sea walls and the cruise ship ban.

“Venice has been a more fragile city than the others. Paradoxically now it’s the most secure,” he also emphasized that the agency’s recommendation to redirect large ships to other ports would damage the city’s livelihood.

In the UNESCO list, which includes 55 endangered sites from the Old City of Jerusalem to Timbuktu, no Moroccan heritage was featured.

UNESCO is urging countries to inform it of all endangered heritage so that it includes it in the list.

Among the monuments on the list are Ukraine’s Historic Center of Odesa, the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls which was submitted to UNESCO by Jordan, the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras, and the Abu Mena Tomb in Egypt.

The World Heritage Committee, which consists of 21 member states, including Italy, will vote on UNESCO’s recommendation to the city of Venice next month, so it is not yet definitive.

In order to prevent what the government described as the genuine risk of the city being recognized as a World Heritage in Danger, Italy banned cruise ships in 2021 after UNESCO issued a warning to the city about the damage brought on by a regular stream of cruise ships.

The UN agency reported that Italy had not accepted its invitation to work with it on the earlier suggested corrective actions.

Additionally, it recommended the authorities lessen pollution at Marghera, a nearby industrial port.