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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Unique as it is "Venice and its Lagoon" certainly need no presentation and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 in “recognition of its unique historical, archaeological, urban and artistic heritage and exceptional cultural traditions, integrated into an extraordinary natural landscape”.

The Site is considered to be a "cultural landscape" that symbolizes the work of man and nature in time under the influence of physical constraints and environmental, social, economic and cultural opportunities. In this extraordinary setting, history and art are reflected in the calm waters of the lagoon, a wide coastal basin of more than 70 thousand hectares between the mouths of the River Brenta and the River Sile.

A lagoon that is an exceptional example of semi-lake habitat but which unfortunately has become extremely vulnerable due to climate change. The UNESCO Site therefore also protects the eight municipalities on the lagoon: Campagna Lupia, Cavallino Treporti, Chioggia, Codevigo, Jesolo, Mira, Musile di Piave and Quarto d 'Altino. 

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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.