Street Appia Antica, the oldest and most well-known road in Italy which connects Rome to Brindisi may soon become World Heritage Site. Last January 10, at Baths of Diocletian a Roma, the ceremony for the signing of the memorandum of understanding was in fact held to launch the candidacy of the "via Appia. Regina Viarum" in Unesco World Heritage List. It is a project promoted by Ministry of Culture involving the regions Lazio, Campania, Basilicata e Puglia, or those crossed by the Roman road. The candidacy process of the Via Appia as a UNESCO heritage site had already started last May. The Small, then chaired by Dario Franceschini, had decided to nominate the Appia as "serial site” due to its historical and cultural value. After months of waiting, the signing of the memorandum of understanding finally arrived today which will lead the Roman road towards this well-deserved recognition.

Via Appia - Map

Via Appia Antica: example of Roman greatness and cultural crossroads

Waiting for the evaluation of the preparation of the dossier for the candidacy of the Regina viarum he Unesco heritage, the Mic has already thought about carrying out some restoration interventions. As stated by the Undersecretary of Culture, Giammarco Mazzi, who attended the ceremony: «The Via Appia is an example of the Roman greatness, the first public road and the prototype, also from a technical point of view, of other roads that the Romans then built. But it is also much more, it was a cultural crossroads, part of the cultural and social system of the Roman world: this was perhaps its main importance and this will be the aspect we focus on. The Ministry has already invested 19 million euros in restorations, storage and for the preparation of the dossier. We hope to make it. When Italians play together, no result is impossible».

The next step will be the evaluation of the application by the Board of Directors of the Italian Unesco National Commission, scheduled for the next 20st January. Should it obtain a positive evaluation, the complete dossier will be sent to Unesco headquarters di Paris for official approval and inclusion among the World Heritage Sites.

Featured photo: © Tyler Bell – Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Via Appia: protocol signed for Unesco candidacy last edit: 2023-01-11T09:00:00+01:00 da Antonello Ciccarello

Post comments

Subscribe
Notify
0 Post comments
Inline feedback
View all comments
0
Would Love Your Thoughts, Please Comment.x
()
x