With the recognition of the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, the number of Veneto sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List rises to 8.

In the official description we read that "the area includes a series of hilly chains, which run from east to west, and that follow one after the other from the plains to the Pre-Alps, equidistant from the Dolomites and the Adriatic, which has a positive effect on the climate and the countryside. If Conegliano is home to many wine-related institutes, Valdobbiadene is instead the productive heart of the wine area. The steeply sloping hills make it difficult to mechanize the work and consequently vineyard management has always been in the hands of small producers. It is thanks to this great, peaceful army of workers and thanks to the love for their land that it has been possible to preserve these beautiful hills and create a strong bond between man and the countryside. The result of this strong bond is an extraordinary example of how this ancient culture is strongly rooted in its land ".

The site includes the hilly areas of Valdobbiadene, Miane, Farra di Soligo, Pieve di Soligo, Follina, Cison di Valmarino, Refrontolo, San Pietro di Feletto, Revine Lago, Tarzo, Vidor, Vittorio Veneto to which are added Conegliano, Susegana and San Vendemiano.  

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By June 2012 a new pearl was added to the precious collection of gems protected by UNESCO in Veneto: three of the hundred and eleven pile-dwelling sites of the Alpine Arc, entered onto the World Heritage list, are located in Veneto.

The candidacy, promoted by Switzerland, which alone hosts fifty-six archaeological areas,  concerned six countries overall: in addition to Italy were Austria, France, Germany and Slovenia, with site selected from over one thousand known in Europe, datable between 5000 and 500 B.C.

Their being located in water-covered land and therefore in an anaerobic environment has allowed the preservation  of timber, food remains, tools and artefacts also made from organic materials that would otherwise be perishable. Due to their particular preservation condition these sites are of great scientific interest for the study of the most ancient peasant society of Europe, over 4000 years of human history.

Thanks to the sophisticated equipment available and today's survey techniques, it has been possible to follow with extreme precision the evolution of climate change, the environment and civilisation, from the Neolithic Age to the Iron Age.
Of these archaeological sites, nineteen are located in Italy, over five regions: Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Piedmont; it is still in Italy, on the Lake of Varese, that  the most  ancient pile-dwelling structures were discovered, dating back to the beginning of the Neolithic period.

There are two locations concerned within the province of Verona: one in Peschiera del Garda, between Belvedere and Frassino, and one at Tombola, near Cerea; an important site was identified in the province of Padua in the Laghetto della Costa at Arquà Petrarca, at the foot of the Euganean Hills.

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Inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, Vicenza’s majestic architecture that gives the city its unique appearance is the work of only one man: Andrea Palladio. The architectural genius of this Renaissance Master is most evident in his buildings whose distinct architectural elegance, balance and harmony is unique, and were able to change the urban layout of the city and a part of the landscape.

One need think only of the magnificence of the Palladian Basilica, the Olympic Theatre, the Loggia del Capitaniato and the extraordinary Villa Almerico Capra “La Rotonda”. 

The Site “City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto" is a serial site with two inscriptions by UNESCO. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994, the site initially comprised only the city of Vicenza with its 23 buildings and 3 suburban villas attributed to Palladio; 21 villas located in several Veneto provinces were later included in the 1996 site extension. 

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Verona was inscribed in the World Heritage list in 2000. The reason for the inscription reads as follows: "The historic city of Verona was founded in the 1st century B.C. It particularly flourished under the rule of the Scaligeri family in the 13th and 14th centuries and as part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to 18th centuries. Verona has preserved a remarkable number of monuments from antiquity, the medieval and Renaissance periods,  and represents an outstanding example of a military stronghold. It is a city of culture and art".

The traces of its glorious past are today still evident, everywhere. After Rome, Verona is considered to be the second most important city in Italy for its rich and remarkably preserved Roman remains such as the Amphitheatre Arena, the Roman Theatre, Ponte Pietra, Arco dei Gavi, the Porta Leoni and Porta Borsari, to name but a few. Also noteworthy are the signs of its political and economic development after the year 1000 with churches, palaces and monuments built under the rule of the Scaligeri. The city contains many other remarkable historical and artistic remains such as the walls, gates and ramparts of the Republic of Venice and the strongholds dating to the Austrian empire. 

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“Their dramatic vertical and pale coloured peaks in a variety of distinctive sculptural forms is extraordinary in a global context. These mountains also contain an internationally important combination of earth science values”. So reads the Seville declaration of 2009 when the Dolomites were inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

Most of the Dolomites and the UNESCO systems are in Belluno Province, which has five of the nine systems:

1. Pelmo and Croda da Lago
2. Marmolada
3. Pale di San Martino, Pale di San Lucano, Dolomiti Bellunesi and Vette Feltrine
4. The Northern Dolomites
5. Dolomiti Friulane and d’Oltre Piave 

 A natural heritage of exceptional beauty and value recognized by the whole world. Just as spectacular and unique is phenomenon known as “enrosadira”, being the colouring that encapsulates the peaks of the Dolomites making them glow in different tones ranging from pink to dark red. 

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The Botanical Garden of Padua was created in 1545 and is the oldest university botanical garden in the world. The Garden is in the heart of the city, not far from Prato della Valle, between the Basilica of Sant'Antonio and the Basilica of Santa Giustina.

The Botanical Garden of Padua was created for the study of medicinal plants and has played an important role in understanding the relationships between nature and culture; over the centuries plants from different parts of the world have been added to the Garden where today there are 3,500 different species.

The decision to inscribe this property in the UNESCO World Heritage List dates to 1997 and was made with the following reason: “The Botanical Garden of Padua is the original of all botanical gardens throughout the world, and represents the birth of science, of scientific exchanges, and understanding of the relationship between nature and culture. It has made a profound contribution to the development of many modern scientific disciplines, notably botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology, and pharmacy.”

In 2014, the Garden of Biodiversity was inaugurated in the old Garden: these are five large greenhouses with five different climatic environments and 1,300 species that tell the story of the extraordinary vegetation of the Earth.


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Eleven awards in one Region

Among tangible sites and intangible elements, Italy is one of the most represented countries in the world of UNESCO, with as many as 60 awards. Veneto is home to 11 cultural and natural excellences: here you can find marvels of painting, unique natural landscapes, artisan traditions and masterpieces of architecture.