Property: Churches of Chiloé
Id. N°: 971
State Party: Chile
Criteria: C (ii) (iii)
The Committee decided to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (ii) and (iii):
Criterion (ii) The Churches of Chiloé are outstanding examples of the successful fusion of European and indigenous cultural traditions to produce a unique form of wooden architecture.
Criterion (iii) The mestizo culture resulting from Jesuit missionary activities in the 17th and 18th centuries has survived intact in the Chiloé archipelago, and achieves its highest expression in the outstanding wooden churches.
A number of delegates took the floor to express their support for the nomination citing the churches as emblematic of the architecture of the archipelago and as embodiment of Jesuit ideals. The need to protect the vernacular architecture surrounding the churches was also stressed. Ecuador noted that tourism numbers might rise with the construction of a planned bridge that connects the area to the mainland making additional protection necessary. Finland suggested that sub-numeration of properties including distinct monuments, would give a better idea of the number of monuments actually inscribed on the World Heritage List. Italy and South Africa both indicated that they felt sub-numeration would detract from the unity of the site, and that the churches should be seen as an ensemble within their setting and not be subdivided.