State of Conservation (SOC)

Requests Approved: 0
Total Amount Ap proved: 0USD

March 2005: joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS monitoring mission

a) Construction project of a highway extension in the vicinty of Villa Saraceno;

b) Uncontrolled development and urban encroachment in the Veneto region;

Dated 29 January 2010, a report on the state of conservation of the property was submitted by the State Party. The report gives detailed information on counter measures for protecting the Outstanding Universal Value of the property in light of the recommendations of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission of 2005 in regard to the ongoing A-31 Valdastico-South highway construction project. The report indicates that further documentation was already provided with their letters dated 24 and 27 November 2009 including maps and plans.

The State Party further reports via letter dated 2 March 2010 that the final design, including the so-called “UNESCO modifications”, was submitted to the Municipality of Agugliaro (Vicenza) for the necessary town planning approval, which was granted with Resolution no. 2 of the Municipal Council dated 28 January 2009. The final design has also been approved by the region of Veneto, and has been forwarded to the National Autonomous Roads Corporation (ANAS), the institution in charge of highway construction under the control of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, for its final approval. The State Party notes that the appropriation of land has begun, but no construction work has started yet.

The State Party has carried out a significant redesign of several sections of the highway near portions of the World Heritage property. In particular, at the planned exit north of Agugliaro, two underpasses have replaced overpasses and the design of the toll station has been modified and simplified. At the southern exit, one of the two overpasses has been removed and the second redesigned, including the lowering of its profile and the introduction of landscaping to minimize its impact. In addition, along the stretch of highway, two additional overpasses have been replaced by underpasses and a third removed entirely. A fourth overpass has been reduced in height to minimize its impact.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies have examined the proposed changes relating to issues raised by the joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS mission of 2005 regarding the highway construction. The adjustment to the road, close to the Villa, is acceptable, as are the redesigns of the toll booth infrastructure. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note the substitution where possible of the overpasses with underpasses, and the lowering of the profile of those remaining overpasses.

The World Heritage Centre also received information from NGOs concerning the new Dal Molin military base, which is located 1,5km outside the World Heritage property.

On 31 May 2010 the World Heritage Centre was informed by the Italian authorities that the proposed Dal Molin military base will be situated far outside of the buffer zone of the World Heritage property and that it will not have any negative impact on the property.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that details of the proposed Dal Molin military base need to be assessed for any potential impact on the property.