L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 L e o n a r d o d a Vinci's Last Sup- p e r , t h e c i t y o f Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of Veneto, as well as the his- torical center of Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and the Aeo- l i a n I s l a n d s . T h e S a s s i o f Matera, Mount Etna and the Dolomites, the Cinque Terre, and the wine landscapes of P i e d m o n t . T h e s e a r e j u s t some of the 59 sites in Italy that have been included in the UNESCO World Her- itage list. The definition of "world heritage" emerged in 1 9 7 2 , w h e n t h e U n i t e d Nations Educational, Scien- tific and Cultural Organiza- tion adopted the Convention to protect sites of "exception- al universal value." The list i n c l u d e s n a t u r a l s i t e s , archaeological sites, monu- ments, villas, historical resi- dences, cities, and islands. These places are irreplace- able sources of life and inspi- r a t i o n , e m b o d y i n g UNESCO's primary mission to identify, protect, preserve, and pass on this invaluable treasure to future genera- tions. To date, UNESCO has recognized a total of 1199 sites (933 cultural, 227 nat- ural, and 39 mixed) in 168 countries worldwide. Currently, Italy holds the record for the most sites list- ed as world heritage, with the first one, Rock Drawings i n V a l c a m o n i c a , dating back to 1979. In Italy, out of these 59 sites, 6 are natural sites (Aeolian Islands, Monte S a n G i o r g i o , D o l o m i t e s , M o u n t E t n a , A n c i e n t a n d Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, and the Karst in evaporites and caves of the Northern Apennines) and, among the remaining 53 World Heritage sites, 8 are cultural landscapes: Amalfi Coast, Portovenere, Cinque Terre and Islands (Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto), Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, with the archaeological sites of Paestum, Velia and the Charterhouse of Padua, Sacri Monti of Piedmont and L o m b a r d y , V a l d ' O r c i a , Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Vineyard Land- scape of Piedmont: Langhe- Roero and Monferrato, and T h e P r o s e c c o H i l l s o f Conegliano and Valdobbi- adene. These places are not just beautiful tourist spots or impressive architectural and engineering feats; they are cultural treasures that repre- sent the artistic and territor- ial heritage of Italy. They are the result of centuries of skilled transformation and adaptation by the local pop- ulations to meet their needs. Some places also demon- strate how ancient Italians changed their lifestyles to fit the unique landscapes they lived in, like the prehistoric pile dwellings in the Alps or the rock-cut necropolises in Pantalica, Sicily. In some cases, UNESCO sites are a unique or excep- tional testimony to a cultural tradition or a civilization; in others, they constitute an extraordinary manifestation of the major evolutionary periods of the Earth; in oth- ers still, they exhibit a mas- terpiece of human creative g e n i u s . N o t a b l y , f o r instance, the cycle of the S c r o v e g n i C h a p e l b y G i o t t o is considered the beginning of a revolutionary development in the history o f m u r a l p a i n t i n g . S o m e places, then, have absorbed the essence of their people, and showcase their social, religious, economic, and cul- tural life throughout genera- tions: that's why they suc- cessfully condense a precise identity heritage. Take, for example, Ferrara, the city of the Renaissance, with its Po Delta, or the historical center of Siena. A f t e r t h e P o r t i c o e s o f Bologna in 2021, Italy's 59th UNESCO site, the Karst in evaporites and the Caves of the Nor ther n Apennines, was added this year. We are talking about 900 caves in Emilia Romagna covering 100 km, a site of extraordi- nary value not only from a geological and geomorpho- logical point of view, but also when it comes to paleontol- ogy, biology, archaeology, and the history of art. Italy's U N E S C O H e r i t a g e l i s t includes cities, towns, and environmental areas where the availability of a certain type of construction materi- al, or the sheer beauty of a u n i q u e l a n d s c a p e , d e t e r - mined how it has been hand- ed down to posterity, like in Pienza or that stretch of the Ligurian Riviera between P o r t o v e n e r e a n d C i n q u e Terre. Some places skillfully l e v e r a g e t h e i r n a t u r a l resources to enhance the beauty of the area, purely for the aesthetic enjoyment of its inhabitants. Take, for example, Villa d'Este in T i v o l i . T h i s s t u n n i n g Renaissance creation brings together architectural won- ders like fountains, decora- tive basins, and statues with the lush beauty of hedges, tree-lined avenues, and flo- ral sculptures. This synergy creates a distinct style of Italian garden that remains awe-inspiring even today. Now, let's turn our gaze to the Savoy Residences of Turin. These are not merely a collection of 22 buildings scattered around the city and its center, they are a panoramic vista of European monumental architecture from the 17th and 18th cen- turies. This is thanks to a unified vision from a group o f c o u r t a r c h i t e c t s a n d artists who worked exten- sively on these royal and governmental residences. In essence, there are locations where the drive to shape the surroundings is palpable: t h e y s e r v e a s a m i r r o r reflecting the aesthetics and lifestyles of a particular era. Then, we have places that s t a n d a s u n t o u c h e d t i m e capsules. The ancient beech forests of Italy are a case in point: originating from isolated regions in the Alps, Carpathians, and Pyrenees after the last Ice Age, these forests are living examples of ongoing adaptation. They stretch across different ter- Italian Heritage as seen by UNESCO SILVIA NITTOLI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS From left, clockwise: Consul General Raffaella Valentini with Francesca Fabiani, Head of Contemporary Photography, ICCD in Rome, at the exhibition; photos of Italy's UNESCO sites; Consul General Valentini during her speech and visitors enjoying the exhibition (Photos: Stefania Rosini/@stefaniarosinistills_smpsp) CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

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