The Porticoes of Bologna

• boundaries to be revised
• strengthen the management and monitoring system

N/A

On 30 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1650/documents/. Progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous session is presented in that report, as follows:

• The report provides an overview of the results of bibliographical and archival research on the Municipal Statutes of 1288 and other subsequent ordinances, which corroborates the importance of the portico as an ordering element in the development of the city;
• Five new decrees that reinforced the legal protection of some component parts of the property have been adopted. In addition, provisions included in the 2021 General Urban Plan of the Municipality of Bologna have strengthened the protection of the property;
• A dedicated office, comprising of five people, has been set up within the Municipality of Bologna to act as the coordinating body for the management of the property, both internally and externally;
• Regarding the implementation of the management plan, the State Party informs that 60% of the expected actions have been completed, an additional 30% have commenced, and a new list of actions has been drawn up;
• The State Party notifies three development projects (i.e., the new Tram line, the restyling of the Dall’Ara Stadium and the functional restoration of Modernissimo Movie Theatre) that it would like to discuss during the Advisory mission. Two other projects (i.e., the restoration and structural consolidation of the Ospedale dei Bastardini and the reopening of the Roman Theatre) are also mentioned.

On 18 January 2023, the State Party invited a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission to assist with the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations and particularly with the revision of the boundaries of the property. While this revision is already under way, the State Party expressed its wish to discuss the adequateness of the delineation of some of the component parts, with a view to submitting a minor boundary modification in the future. The joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission took place from 12 to 16 June 2023.

The State Party has started to address all the key recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription. The invitation of an Advisory mission to assist in the implementation of those recommendations, and in particular to help revise the boundaries of the property, is welcomed. This mission took place from 12 to 16 June 2023.

The State Party has provided a summary of the research which has been carried out in relation to the role that the Municipal Statutes of 1288 had on the relationship between public and private spaces in the medieval city. It is unclear if this research has been completed or will continue, and how the findings produced so far have been used to inform the revision of the provisional Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (SOUV).

The efforts made by the State Party to strengthen the legal protection of all the component parts of the property are to be commended. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the highest level of legal protection available should extend to the entire area covered by the component parts and is therefore closely interlinked with the revision of the boundaries.

The creation of the dedicated office (called Portici Patrimonio Mondiale Office) to oversee the management of the property is also welcomed. It would be important for the roles and responsibilities of this office to be clearly formulated, particularly in relation to other actors with responsibilities in the management of the property, namely the Steering Committee and other departments within the Municipality.

Considerable progress seems to have been made in implementing the project actions included in the Management Plan. It is noted that the table of actions in the report submitted by the State Party shows some discrepancies with the table included in the Management Plan submitted with the nomination dossier. The State Party should be encouraged to implement the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape as a tool for integrating urban heritage protection with the urban development plans and processes. Several actions that were originally expected to continue until 2024 are now considered completed. The State Party identified a new list of projects for implementation in the medium term. It is recommended that a precise timeframe be defined for their implementation, in order to assess the progress made.

The conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory mission are foreseen to assist the State Party in the revision of the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone(s), and in revising the SOUV, as well as enhancing its protection and management system. The mission will also assess the measures undertaken by the State Party to address any impacts of development projects on the OUV of the property, and whether further action is required.