Decision 44 COM 7B.156

Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (Italy) (C 829)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.85, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Commends the efforts of the State Party to progress on the management system of the property and to resolve issues related to inadequate human resources capacities and funding, additionally, for resubmitting the proposal for the revision of the buffer zone in accordance with Paragraphs 163-164 of the Operational Guidelines;
4. Welcomes the updating process for the Management Plan of the property, as well as the intention for upgrading the document to become basis of a participatory management approach on regional and local levels, and encourages the State Party to:
   1. Ensure that the document will serve as a strategic management tool that is continued to be accompanied with short-, medium- and long-term action plans,
   2. Submit the draft Management Plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, before its finalization and approval;
5. Also welcomes further progress made on stabilizing and improving the state of conservation of the structures and decorative surfaces of the property, and the efforts of the State Party to put in place stable cycles of maintenance routine, as well as to upgrade visitor access and experience, and requests future updates as conservation works are completed on the buildings that were noted as being in danger during the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission;
6. Also commends the State Party for progress on the hydrogeological works at Pompei that should resolve the issue with the ineffective drainage system, and the use of associated archaeological surveys stabilizing the excavation profiles to enhance the knowledge both about the property and its excavation history;
7. Notes that the legal proceedings related to administrative aspects of the project at Porta Nola have been concluded, but regrets that that the detailed design plans of the planned storage facility have not been submitted to the World Heritage Centre as requested by Decision 43 COM 7B.85 of the Committee, and therefore, reiterates its requests to the State Party to provide the design plans together with the planned timeline of the project as soon as possible and before any commitments have been taken,including any new tender process, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
8. Considers that the submitted design plans for the visitor centre at Torre Annunziata should be further revised in line with the 2019 ICOMOS Technical Review, and also requests the State Party to continue suspending the construction works and provide the full revised design plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
9. Reminds the State Party to inform or update the World Heritage Centre in due course about any major development project that may negatively impact the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, before any irreversible decisions are made, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2023, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.