In November UNESCO and the Italian Ministry of Culture held a meeting in Pompeii to discuss issues related to the site's management and conservation in light of the problems facing the ancient city and the new "Grande Progetto Pompei" financed by the European Union. The results of this first meeting have been published on the UNESCO website.
The First Expert/Stakeholder Meeting
took place in Pompei (Italy) on 17 November 2012, within the framework
of the project “Towards a governance system for coordinating the
updating and the implementation of the Management Plan of the
Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata”. The
meeting was funded by the Italian Government and managed by the UNESCO
World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of
Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC).
The objective of the meeting was to
assist those responsible for the World Heritage property “Archaeological
Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata” in updating and
reviewing the existing management plan to address public use and
disaster risk management issues and include provisions to regulate and
control development in the vicinity of the property.
Around 50 participants included local,
national and international experts in the field of archaeology,
sustainable tourism, economics of culture, management, conservation,
disaster risk management; national and local authorities, local
stakeholders and site managers. The Italian Ministry (MIBAC) was
represented at the highest level and by all central and decentralized
departments and units involved in the preservation and enhancement of
the World Heritage site. Experts from ICCROM and ICOMOS, two of the
advisory bodies of the World Heritage Convention, also contributed to
the discussions.
The Meeting was opened with an
introduction on the core elements of the project agreed between UNESCO
and MIBAC, followed by a presentation on conservation and maintenance
aspects that are included in the Grande Progetto Pompei
financed by the European Union. The activities put in place by the
MIBAC-UNESCO office were listed with a particular reference to the World
Heritage site of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata. The
meeting‘s objectives were described and the draft proposal for a new
management system for the World Heritage site was introduced.
The state of the World Heritage site was
then illustrated in term of conservation, preservation, maintenance,
planning and management issues completed by the emergency plan for the
Vesuvian area. An example for future heritage management practices was
identified in the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a public and private
initiative acting at one of the archaeological area of the World
Heritage site. The new Italian guidelines for sponsorship were also
explained. The discussions followed then in the four workshops on
heritage and conservation, disaster risk management, public use and
governance, institutional and organizational settings; and resulted in
several considerations and suggestions (attached).
For downloads and more see the UNESCO
website.
The November 2012 issue of Forma Urbis magazine was dedicated to the work and research of the British School at Rome (BSR).
