The Bureau was concerned by the construction project inside the Vatican City of a concrete building of several floors in the place of the old Hospice de Santa Marta, the demolition of which was undertaken on 1 June 1992.
The breach in the Leonin Wall that appeared during this work constitutes a danger to the integrity of this fortified ensemble. Moreover, because of its co-visibility with the dome of Saint-Pierre, the height of the planned building would cause irreparable damage to the urban landscape of Rome, as well as to the Vatican City.
The Bureau recommended that the World Heritage Centre contact the Observer of the Holy See to UNESCO in order to do all that is possible to revise this building project which will be extremely damaging to two emblematic and closely-linked properties listed on the World Heritage List, the City of Rome and the City of the Vatican.