Advertisement
Italy
WorldEurope

Venice avoids designation as ‘Unesco heritage site in danger’ at meeting in China

  • Venice was able to avoid the classification by banning the passage of large cruise ships through parts of the lagoon
  • The responsible committee of Unesco made the decision on Thursday at its ongoing 44th session in the Chinese city of Fuzhou

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Venice has avoided being classed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in danger. Photo: AP
dpa

Venice and Budapest narrowly escaped being classified as World Heritage Sites in danger on Thursday after Unesco refrained from placing the two leading European tourist attractions on its list of endangered cultural and natural sites at its meeting in China.

The responsible committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) made the decision on Thursday at its ongoing 44th session in the Chinese city of Fuzhou.

Venice was able to avoid the classification by banning the passage of large cruise ships through parts of the lagoon, which was announced just over a week ago.

Advertisement

The committee justified its decision with the ban, which will take effect on August 1, as well as the planned measures for long-term solutions for shipping traffic, in which options outside the lagoon will have priority and other ports in the region will be called at.

Unesco had previously still expressed concern about the impact of tourism and the cruise industry and the potential damage to buildings, as well as planned infrastructure and construction projects in Venice. Reference was also made to the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on the lagoon and building fabric.
Advertisement
The Danube river and the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest. Photo: AFP
The Danube river and the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest. Photo: AFP
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x