Italy boasts an extraordinary cultural and natural heritage, presenting us to the world as a superpower of beauty and culture. This huge wealth of cultural and environmental assets is complemented by a vast array of traditions, crafts practices, artistic expressions, and cultural industries. The activities related to UNESCO’s programmes and conventions contribute to protecting the many facets of our heritage, but also to encouraging innovative and sustainable ways of managing, enjoying, and producing creative works, thus raising awareness and engaging society as a whole.
The World Heritage Sites
The “Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,” adopted by UNESCO in 1972, established the World Heritage List, a list of cultural and natural assets from various countries around the world, recognized as being of exceptional interest and universal value for humanity as a whole. Cultural, natural, mixed assets and cultural landscapes are eligible for inscription; the selection of sites for inscription is made annually by the World Heritage Committee. The Convention entrusts Member States with the task and responsibility of identifying potential sites, protecting and conserving candidate and inscribed sites, and raising public awareness through education and information programmes.
To date, UNESCO has inscribed a total of 1,248 sites (972 cultural, 235 natural, and 41 mixed) in 170 countries worldwide on the World Heritage List. Italy is the country with the largest number of sites 61) inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Out of Italy’s 61 sites, 6 are natural sites (Aeolian Islands, Monte San Giorgio, the Dolomites, Mount Etna, Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe, Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines) and, out of the remaining 55 World Heritage sites, 8 are cultural landscapes: Amalfi Coast, Portovenere, Cinque Terre and Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto), Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, with the archaeological sites of Paestum, Velia and the Certosa di Padula, Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, Val d’Orcia, Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Since 2007, Italy has been a party to the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” adopted by UNESCO in 2003. The definition of “intangible cultural heritage” encompasses an extraordinary set of living traditions, customs, knowledge, and practices passed down from generation to generation: language and other oral expressions and traditions, performing arts, social practices, rites and festivals, traditional crafts, and knowledge, know-how and practices relating to nature and the universe. The preservation of this heritage is essential to preserving the infinite nuances of cultural diversity in the face of globalization, thus promoting mutual respect and intercultural dialogue.
To date, UNESCO has recognized 849 elements in 157 countries as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Twenty Italian elements are inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Of these, ten are national elements:
- Sicilian Puppet Theatre (2008);
- Sardinian Tenor Singing (2008);
- Traditional Violin Craftsmanship in Cremona (2012);
- Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures (La Festa dei Gigli in Nola, la Varia di Palmi, la Faradda dei Candelieri in Sassari, la Macchina di Santa Rosa in Viterbo; 2013);
- The traditional practice of cultivating the “vite ad alberello” (head-trained bush vines) of the community of Pantelleria (2014);
- Art of the Neapolitan “pizzaiuolo” (2017);
- Celestinian Forgiveness Celebration (2019);
- Truffle Hunting and Extraction in Italy: Knowledge and Traditional Practices (2021);
- Practice of opera singing in Italy (2023);
- Italian cooking between sustainability and biocultural diversity (2025).
Seven are transnational elements:
- Mediterranean Diet (2013);
- Falconry (2016);
- Art of Dry Stone Walling (2018);
- Alpinism (2019);
- Transhumance, the Seasonal Droving of Livestock(2019);
- Art of Glass Beads (2020);
- Musical Art of Horn Players (2020);
- Lipizzan Horse Breeding Tradition (2022);
- Traditional Irrigation: Knowledge, Technique and Organization (2023);
- Manual Bell Ringing (2024).
Another element is inscribed on the Register of good safeguarding practices:
- Tocatì, a shared programme for the safeguarding of traditional games and sports (2022).
Memory of the World Programme
The Memory of the World Programme was created in 1992 from the need to address the severe deterioration and access difficulties affecting book and archive collections in many parts of the world, due to social conflicts or wars, looting, illegal trade, climate factors, inadequate storage facilities, and scarce financial resources. The Programme aims to promote the preservation of documentary heritage through the most up-to-date conservation techniques and to ensure universal access and awareness of its importance, also through the use of copies made using new technologies, in compliance with national legislation, copyright and property rights, and different cultural sensitivities. As part of the programme, a Memory of the World Register was established, which includes documentary heritage recognized as being of universal value and worthy of protection: manuscripts, volumes, collections of books and documents, as well as images, recordings, and films.
The Register includes 13 Italian assets, 9 of which are national.
- The Malatesta Library in Cesena (2005);
- Lucca’s Historical Diocesan Archives (2011);
- Newsreels and Photographs of the Istituto LUCE (2013);
- The Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (2015);
- Collection of Barbanera Almanacs(2015);
- Criminal Proceedings of the Vajont Dam Disaster (2023);
- Apodissary Fund of the Ancient Neapolitan Public Banks (1573-1809) (2023);
- Luigi Sturzo Archives (1890-1959) (2025);
- Architecture and Archaelogical Excavations in the State Archives of Naples (1792-1955) (2025).
Four are transnational elements:
- The Bibliotheca Corviniana Collection (2005)
- The Work of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun (1499-1590) (2015)
- Antonio Carlos Gomes (2017)
- Manuscript of the Vita Sanctorum Marini et Leonis (2025).
Creative Cities
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote international cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity and cultural industry as strategic factors for sustainable urban development The network currently includes 295 cities worldwide and is divided into seven creative sectors: Music, Literature, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Media Arts, Gastronomy, and Cinema.
Creative Cities are committed to developing partnerships with public and private entities, sharing best practices, and proactively collaborating with other network members to achieve shared objectives: strengthening the supply of cultural activities, products, and services; developing innovative centres of creativity and expanding opportunities for sector professionals; increasing participation in cultural life, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups; and fully integrating culture and creativity into sustainable development plans. As a result, Creative Cities also provide a fundamental contribution to achieving the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
The Italian cities currently inscribed on the Creative Cities network are 16:
- Bologna (Music, 2006);
- Fabriano (Crafts and Folk Art, 2013);
- Rome (Cinema, 2015);
- Parma (Gastronomy, 2015);
- Turin (Design, 2016);
- Milan (Literature, 2017);
- Pesaro (Music, 2017);
- Carrara (Crafts and Folk Art, 2017);
- Alba (Gastronomy, 2017);
- Biella (Crafts and Folk Art, 2019);
- Bergamo (Gastronomy, 2019);
- Como (Crafts and Folk Art, 2021);
- Modena (Media Arts, 2021);
- Bolzano (Music, 2023);
- La Spezia (Design, 2025);
- Faenza (Crafts and Folk Art, 2025).
Learning Cities
In a fast changing world, “lifelong learning” – i.e. acquiring new knowledge, skills, and attitudes — enables better adaptation to social and environmental changes. Bearing this in mind, in 2015 UNESCO established the Global Network of Learning Cities, a network of communities and cities working to promote lifelong learning by supporting education from primary school to university and revitalizing learning in families, communities, and workplaces, also through the use of new technologies. To encourage and reward cities that achieve exceptional results in reaching these goals, the UNESCO Learning City Award was established.
The network includes 7 Italian cities:
- Turin (2016);
- Fermo (2018);
- Palermo (2019);
- Lucca (2020);
- Trieste (2020);
- Reggio Calabria (2022);
- Brescia (2025);
- Cividale del Friuli (2025).
UNESCO and UNITWIN Chairs
The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, launched in 1992, promotes international inter-university collaboration. Through the network, universities share human and material resources to jointly address the most pressing challenges and contribute to societal development. By providing experts and mediators between academia and civil society, the Chairs Network helps inform policymakers, develops innovative teaching initiatives and research projects, enhances existing university programs, and is committed to promoting and protecting cultural diversity. A UNESCO Chair is established for a four-year term through an agreement signed by the Director-General of UNESCO and the Rector of the university or research institute. Universities and research institutes spread across multiple countries can also network, in groups of three to ten, and establish a partnership with UNESCO through the UNITWIN Cooperation Programme. Both UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs and Cooperation Programmes are implemented in UNESCO’s areas of expertise: education, natural and social sciences, culture, and communication. There are currently 1,000 UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs and 45 Programmes active in 125 countries.
Italy has 43 UNESCO Chairs and a UNITWIN Network covering a wide range of sectors, including biotechnology, human rights, human development, culture of peace, international cooperation, sustainable development, bioethics, migrant inclusion, natural resources, environmental risk prevention and management, nutrition, health, education, intangible cultural heritage, landscape, cultural heritage and land management, urban planning, and health.
UNESCO Associated Schools
The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) brings together schools of all levels from around the world, both State and private ones, with the common goal of strengthening youth education for peace, intercultural dialogue, respect for human rights, and sustainable development. Associated schools – approximately 11,500 in 180 countries – endeavour to integrate UNESCO’s fundamental principles into their curricula and activities, promoting innovative teaching methods, participatory learning approaches, capacity building, and the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and best practices with schools, individuals, communities, policymakers, and society as a whole. The Network aims to empower students to address current and future challenges constructively and creatively, to create sustainable and resilient societies in which citizens are capable of making informed and responsible decisions. UNESCO has published a manual to help teachers adequately address the topic of sustainable development, entitled “Education for Sustainable Development Goals—Learning Objectives,” and a Guide for Members of the Associated Schools Network.
Biosphere Reserves
The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971, is an intergovernmental scientific programme aimed at promoting a balanced relationship between people and the environment, combining the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity with the adoption of environmentally sustainable and socially and culturally effective economic development strategies. The cornerstone of the programme is the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, which encompass terrestrial, marine/coastal ecosystems, or a combination of them. Through cooperative activities and interdisciplinary research, the Reserves explore new forms of interaction between ecosystems and society, providing innovative and effective models of sustainable development.
The Network currently includes 784 Biosphere Reserves (including 25 transboundary ones) in 142 countries. There are 21 Reserves in Italy: the latest to receive recognition are the Euganean Hills Reserve (2024) and the Julian Alps Transboundary Reserve (2024), created from the merger of two MAB Reserves, one Slovenian and one Italian, designated in 2003 and 2019 respectively.
For more information, please visit the website of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security.
Geoparks
The Global Geoparks Network was established in 2004 by 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks to promote the exchange of best practices and the development of joint projects among areas recognized as internationally significant for their geological heritage.
In 2015, UNESCO launched the new UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN) initiative, aimed at promoting the management of Geoparks according to a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development. In UNESCO Geoparks, the protection of geodiversity is combined with sustainable development strategies and a commitment to engaging local communities, raising awareness of environmental protection, the balanced use of resources, and the enhancement of the links between geological heritage and the other forms of natural and cultural heritage.
The Network currently includes 229 Geoparks in 50 countries worldwide.
In Italy there are 12 Global Geoparks, 9 of which were inscribed in 2015, when the UNESCO Global Geoparks initiative was launched, but already present in the Global Network:
- Rocca di Cerere (2008);
- Madonie (2004);
- Beigua (2005);
- Adamello Brenta (2008);
- Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni (2010);
- Tuscan Mining Park (2010);
- Apuan Alps (2011);
- Sesia-Val Grande (2013);
- Pollino (2015);
- Aspromonte (2021);
- Majella (2021);
- Alta Murgia (2024).