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Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata

Italy
Factors affecting the property in 2013*
  • Housing
  • Human resources
  • Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Solid waste
  • Other Threats:

    Series of structural collapses at the property

Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • A series of structural collapses at the property;
  • Building projects in the vicinity of the property;
  • Management system;
  • Inadequate restoration and maintenance; lack of skills;
  • Ineffective drainage systems;
  • Visitor pressure.
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2013

Total amount granted: USD 183 487: Italian Funds-in-Trust

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2013
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2013**

December 2010 and January 2011: Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS advisory mission; January 2013:Joint WHC//ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission

 

 

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2013

A report on the state of conservation of the property was submitted by the State Party in March 2013 and a World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission was carried out from 7 to 10 January 2013. The mission report is available online at the following Web address: https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/37COM/documents  

The 2013 mission considers that there has been progress on a number of the recommendations by the 2010 advisory mission to the property, both concerning the management system and the conservation issues. However, much remains to be done, as specified below.

a)  Management

The Italian Government launched a series of initiatives aimed at addressing the management deficiencies identified at the property. The main activities of the Funds in Trust project “Towards a system of governance to coordinate the updating and implementation of the Management Plan for the archaeological sites of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata”, funded by the Italian authorities and implemented by UNESCO, were undertaken by March 2013, with the involvement of numerous stakeholders. The Italian authorities reported that the new Management Plan will be completed by the end of December 2013.

One of the issues addressed during the preparation of the Management Plan concerns the extension of the buffer zone to ensure that not only the currently inscribed archaeological sites themselves are correctly safeguarded, but also their setting. The Italian authorities will use the already existing landscape plan for the Vesuvian municipalities as the basis for a buffer zone proposal. The mission recommended that a minor boundary modification to the property at Herculaneum should be considered to include the area excavated in the 1990´s, between the main site and the Villa of Papiri, and to ensure that the property does actually include the known remains of the Villa and of the Theatre.

A draft Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) has been submitted by the State Party, as requested by Decision 35 COM 7B.96, and will be reviewed by the Advisory Bodies.

b)  Restoration and maintenance

The mission stated that there has been significant progress in the regular maintenance programme and that extra professional staff has been sent to Pompeii to prepare work for the “Great Pompeii Project”, funded by the European Commission. The aim is to carry out systematic and integrated interventions that address the problems of maintenance, conservation and public appreciation. Structural consolidation and restoration works have already begun, as well as reconnaissance and documentation campaigns. To prevent criminal infiltration into the planned works, a Protocol of Legality was established. Therefore, the Ministry of Interior will autonomously check the procurement processes.

However, many of these initiatives are still at an early stage and have yet to deliver substantive results in terms of improved conservation and access to Pompeii. The mission has some concerns over aspects of the Great Pompeii Project, particularly the speed with which these funds will have to be used and the potential impact of this on the quality of the works to be done. Therefore, external monitoring of the quality of the interventions would be desirable.

In addition, while the Outstanding Universal Value of the property has been maintained, the mission has identified significant continuing deterioration and confirms that parts of the property continue to be at risk at present, as the numerous collapses over the years show, and that urgent remedial action is needed. Moreover, a big part of the buildings in the property are closed to the public. The lack of guardians and technicians for basic management, supervision and maintenance of the site continues to be a problem at the property.

Further, the mission notes that while the Great Pompeii Project can have considerable achievements, there will still remain much ongoing work after the project is over. The long-term sustainability of future management and conservation of the site should be a priority.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2013

The reactive monitoring mission considers that parts of the property are at risk of deterioration at present and that the next two years will be crucial in demonstrating the effectiveness of the diverse ongoing initiatives. Failure to deliver the initiatives could be disastrous for the state of conservation of the property.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies therefore do not recommend, at present, to the World Heritage Committee to consider the possibility of inscribing the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, as suggested by the Committee in its Decision 35 COM 7B.96.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies recommend therefore to the Committee to monitor closely the state of conservation of the property, by requesting annual progress reports. If for any reason, the on-going initiatives fail to deliver substantial progress in the next two years, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies recommend to the Committee to consider the possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2015.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2013
37 COM 7B.77
Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (Italy) (C 829)

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/7B.Add,

2.  Recalling Decisions 35 COM 7B.96 and 36 COM 7C , adopted at its 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) sessions respectively,

3.  Takes note of the numerous initiatives put in place by the State Party, including the “Great Pompeii Project”, supported by the European Commission, and the “Towards a system of Governance” project;

4.  Notes that a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to the property took place in January 2013 and requests the State Party to implement the recommendations of the mission, in particular:

a)  finalize the new management plan, with the involvement of all the authorities in charge at different levels, different stakeholders and the community, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies by 1 February 2014 ,

b)  include in the new management plan a public use plan and a risk management plan, as well as provisions to regulate and control development at the vicinity of the property,

c)  ensure, through the new management plan, that adequate qualified staff, contractors and funds are allocated for the supervision and maintenance of the site,

d)  officially submit the proposal of the new buffer zone to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014 , in accordance with Paragraphs 163-165 of the Operational Guidelines ,

e)  closely monitor the quality of work in the interventions to be done in the framework of the “Great Pompeii Project” and the daily maintenance of the site;

5.  Also requests the State Party to inform the World Heritage Centre regularly and in due time about any project planned in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines ;

6.  Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission in 2014-2015 in order to assess the progress achieved in implementing the measures outlined above;

7.  Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre a progress report by 1 February 2014, and an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above by 1 February 2015 , for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015, with a view to considering, in the absence of substantial progress, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger .

Draft Decision  37 COM 7B.77

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/7B.Add,

2.  Recalling Decisions 35 COM 7B.96 and 36 COM 7C, adopted at its 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012) sessions respectively,

3.  Takes note of the numerous initiatives put in place by the State Party, including the “Great Pompeii Project”, supported by the European Commission, and the “Towards a system of Governance” project;

4.  Notes that a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to the property took place in January 2013 and requests the State Party to implement the recommendations of the mission, in particular:

a)  finalize the new management plan, with the involvement of all the authorities in charge at different levels, different stakeholders and the community, and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies by 1 February 2014,

b)  include in the new management plan a public use plan and a risk management plan, as well as provisions to regulate and control development at the vicinity of the property,

c)  ensure, through the new management plan, that adequate qualified staff, contractors and funds are allocated for the supervision and maintenance of the site,

d)  officially submit the proposal of the new buffer zone to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2014, in accordance with Paragraphs 163-165 of the Operational Guidelines,

e)  closely monitor the quality of work in the interventions to be done in the framework of the “Great Pompeii Project” and the daily maintenance of the site;

5.  Also requests the State Party to inform the World Heritage Centre regularly and in due time about any project planned in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;

6.  Further requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission in 2014-2015 in order to assess the progress achieved in implementing the measures outlined above;

7.  Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre a progress report by 1 February 2014, and an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above by 1 February 2015, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015, with a view to considering, in the absence of substantial progress, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

 

Report year: 2013
Italy
Date of Inscription: 1997
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 37COM (2013)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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