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UNESCO monitors damage to heritage in northern Italy following powerful earthquake
AfriqueJet; may 23 2012
Paris, France - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, Tuesday extended her condolences to Italians following the loss of human lives caused by the earthquake that shook northern Italy on Sunday, 20 May. In a press statement, Bokova also said that UNESCO was sending a mission to assess damage to World Heritage sites and other cultural heritage in the region.
“While initial reports from the Italian authorities indicate that the World Heritage sites of Ferrara, as well as Mantua and Sabbioneta, have not sustained severe damage, UNESCO will continue to monitor the situation. UNESCO stands ready to work with the Italian authorities to ensure that the outstanding universal value of these sites is preserved,” she stated.
Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1995 as an outstanding example of a planned Renaissance city, which has retained its urban fabric virtually intact. The Po Delta presents an outstanding planned cultural landscape and retains its original form to a remarkable extent.
UNESCO to Monitor Heritage Damage in Earthquake-hit Italy
Yihang; Xinhua; May 23 2012
The UN cultural agency on Tuesday said that it will send a mission to assess damage caused by the powerful earthquake on Sunday to World Heritage sites and other cultural heritage in northern Italy.
"While initial reports from the Italian authorities indicate that the World Heritage sites of Ferrara, as well as Mantua and Sabbioneta, have not sustained severe damage, UNESCO will continue to monitor the situation," said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
"UNESCO stands ready to work with the Italian authorities to ensure that the outstanding universal value of these sites is preserved," Bokova said.
Standing Still
Amrita Jain; Indian Express; April 2 2012
Last month, Delhi packed its tales from the past and sealed them in a dossier. Pictures capturing the centuries-old structures — palaces, gardens, domes and towers — were tied together to be sent to UNESCO in the quest for a World Heritage City status. But the file was not sent. Instead, the Ministry of Culture and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) created a new body, the World Heritage Advisory Committee, which is now reviewing the dossier and hoping to send it in February 2013.
Delhi has been vying for this status for almost four years now. Its 155 national monuments and over a thousand culturally rich places make it an apt candidate for the coveted status. Yet, the Capital is languishing in the tentative nomination list alongside a new candidate, Ahmedabad.
For several historians and authors, India is an enchanting muse. Its history works in layers. Delhi is said to have nine lives — dynasties came and went and left a mark on the city. Kolkata is famous for its cultural vibrancy — Jews, Armenians, Muslims, Hindus and Chinese occupy their spaces, Jaipur and Ahmedabad impress with their forts while Mumbai’s colonial and Hyderabad’s Mughal influences give them a romantic nature. Yet, when one searches for the name of an Indian city in the list of over 200 World Heritage Cities, one draws a blank.