Changed it!

But it was still "deferred"- just not with that title.

Yes, I left the "Deferred" in 2012

http://napoli.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/01/09/news/reggia_express_da_napoli_alla_reg gia_di_caserta_con_un_treno_d_epoca-155663649/?refresh_ce

A 'new' different way to travel to the Reggia di Caserta WHS - by locomotive train!

Quite a bit of new information about Italy's coming nomination of Scrovegni Chapel. I think its a sure thing for either 2019 or 2020, its a bit unclear to me if the dossier is being submitted this January.

Padua, Scrovegni Chapel new candidacy site Unesco

The Chapel of the Scrovegni in Padua is dressed in a new light

Video about New Lighting system

Does this indicate Italy's 2019 cultural nomination? Is this the Salento and the "Barocco Leccese" nomination?

https://initalia.virgilio.it/i-muretti-della-puglia-candidati-a-patrimonio-unesco-120 77

UPDATE Cascata delle Marmore and valnerina: Monastic sites and ancient hydrogeological reclamation works

After failure in 2007, Local government is planning to re-nominate this site again but Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists!

http://www.umbriaon.it/cascata-delle-marmore-un-patrimonio-sospeso/

Taking the Italian TWHS discussion to where it belongs.


If normal standards applied to Italy they should just go for the full country inscription and be done with it. There are so many historic and nice places. My personal favorite is Bobbio. But to me Italian sites have to be better.

In your list I find several sites where I would disagree:
* Prosecco Hills are a joke, especially when comparing them to the Champagne.
* Neither Bologna nor Pavia entice me much.
* Bergamo is effectively inscribed via the Venetian works of Defense.
* Clydes review of Parma is fairly lackluster. Having travelled in the area frequently, it's not that recommeded.

Places I enjoyed:
* Lago d'Orta and Maggiore.

Places I would be keen to visit:
* Lucca
*

Having recently visited my second to last site in Italy, I decided to review and comment my country ratings. Please note that Italy has such an abundance of great historic old towns that normal standards do not really apply.

World Class: 5*
Rome: The Pantheon alone would get a 4.5* rating from me. Same for the Colosseum. And there just is so much more. Incredible.
Venice: When I arrived the first time, I thought I was on a movie set. The sheer size and abundance is incredible.
Florence: The Renaissance city.

Outstanding: 4.5*
Ravenna: I love late antiquity and this is the site that shows the changes taking place best.
Pisa: Pisa as a whole is dull. That's why to me this isn't world class. But the inscribed area with the Leaning Tower, the Duomo, ... are just amazing and iconic.
Pompei: If you were to visit a single Roman ruin, this should be it.

Great: 4*
Castel del Monte: To me this is a building falling out of time. Stil modern by today's standards.
Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands: Best coast in Italy.
Siena: A full blown medieval city that doesn't feel like a museum.
Agrigento: It's probably the location, but I liked this site best of the Greek ruins in Italy.
Arab-Norman Palermo: The mix of influences (Byzantine, Arab, Norman) is unique.
Dolomites: These are nice mountains, probably the nicest part of the Alps. It's not rated higher as they are too populated and too settled.
Vicenza: When compiling this summary, I decided to upgrade this to 4*. These are the era defining works of one of the most influential architects of history. I think this does not get the merits it deserves because his architecture became so ubiquituos.

Very Good: 3.5*
Matera: A town hewn from rock...
Syracuse: One of the nicest coastal towns in Italy plus Greek ruins.
Assisi: Italy's best medieval hill top city plus a great church.
The trulli of Alberobello: Unique. Weird. Fun.
Villa Romana del Casale: Amazing and huge mosaics.

Good: 3*
Cilento and Vallo di Diano: It may be the weather/scenery, but I liked Agrigento better. Still, a nice Greek site.
Costiera Amalfitana: I know it has many fans, but to me this is nice, not great. I prefer Cinque Terre by a lot.
Rock Drawings in Valcamonica: Again, may be the Alpine scenery, but I greatly enjoyed the rock drawings.
Urbino: Another hilltop medieval/Renaissance city in Italy. But I enjoyed this one more than others.
Villa d'Este: I love gardens and this is a great one.
Aquileia: Early Christian church with great mosaics.

Average/Merited: 2.5*
Longobards in Italy: I have seen two of the sites (Spoleto, Brescia). They are simpler and represent a downward trend from Rome or Ravenna. Interesting.
Isole Eolie: Volcanic islands in the Mediterranean. I find Santorini better.
Medici Villas and Gardens: Templates of modern villas.
Naples: Pretty dirty. Catacombs were great. The Spanish influence is visisble, but not that unique.
San Gimignano: Medieval museum town.
Val di Noto: Plenty of Baroque towns to see.
Villa Adriana (Tivoli): Big Roman ruin. If it were in any other country than Italy I would rate it higher.
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy: Only seen the one on the Orta Lake. Nice, but not great.
Santa Maria delle Grazie: Stunning painting, but not much more.
Val d'Orcia: Nice area for hiking with plenty of nice old towns.
Mantua and Sabbioneta: Nice old town.

Below average: 2*
Pienza: Downvoted as it should be a sub site of Val d'Orcia.
Ferrara: Nothing too memorable.
Modena: Nothing too memorable.
Monte San Giorgio: Only 2* as it's prehistoric. Pretty dull otherwise. Requires imagination.
Mount Etna: Standard Volcano. I think Chile has those by the hundreds.
Venetian Works of Defence: Feels like a assortment of all sites that didn't make the cut on their own.
Verona: Not sure what sets Verona apart. Nice town, but Italy has plenty of these.
Royal Palace at Caserta: Big palace. But that's mostly it.

Poor: 1.5*
Botanical Garden, Padua: Could be nice, but state of presentation too poor.
Crespi d'Adda: I see why, but not a great example of an industrial era site. We have plenty of those in Germany.
Ivrea: Modern Italian architecture, but simply not as influential as e.g. Bauhaus.
Residences of the Royal House of Savoy: Too many inscribed sites. Nothing special.
Genoa: Very similar to the Royal Residences. Again, nothing special.

Very Poor: 1
None.

Not Justified: 0.5
Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: This is a run of a mill vineyard. Should not have been inscribed.

Not Valuated / Visited
Etruscan Necropolis -> Limited visit.
Su Nuraxi di Barumini -> Not visited.
Pile Dwellings -> Only visited in Germany.
Beech Forests -> Only visited in Germany.
Rhaetian Railway -> Only visited in Switzerland.

When reading the Wikipedia article about Calabria, I came across this sentence:

"On 12 October 2011, the Cathedral of Cosenza received UNESCO World Heritage status for being "Heritage Witness to a Culture of Peace". This is the first award given by UNESCO to the region of Calabria."

This is mixing up WH status, with some other kind of Unesco title, I think?

Call me a "cynic" but this "mixing" of titles seems to me not to be "accidental"!!!!
Some places in Italy will do anything to be able to claim the use of those words "UNESCO " and "World Heritage".
Everywhere I look at "Cosenza" it leaps out at me that it is "UNESCO World Heritage"!!! e.g Wiki - "On 12 October 2011, the Cathedral of Cosenza received the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site for being "A Heritage Witness to a Culture of Peace" This is the first award given by UNESCO to the region of Calabria."

So - what is the reality???

Well I can find no other town/city/building etc etc anywhere claiming to be a UNESCO-recognised "Witness to a Culture of Peace"
I can find a UNESCO program titled "Culture of Peace",
It begins with a "Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace" in Sept 1999 and encompasses a range of initiatives and programs - none of which, as far as I can see include the awarding of a special status to any place!! See - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_peace#UNESCO_Culture_of_Peace_Programme

I then started from Cosenza and worked back to discover the history for the "award" and the linkage to the above UNESCO program etc.
I reached these 2 documents
- https://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/societa/item/4884-5192_e_lunesco_incorona_il_duomo_di_cosenza/amp/ A newspaper article from 2011 which seems to indicate that the award was to recognise the commitment for action on peace which has been and continues to be shown by the Cathedral of Cosenza.
Here is a partial (auto) translation to give a flavour - "COSENZA Saturday, May 5, the Unesco Club Cosenza and the Diocese of Cosenza-Bisignano invite to the Cathedral for the ceremony of the first UNESCO recognition in Calabria, within the Witnesses of a Culture of Peace: "The Cathedral of Cosenza - reads the motivations - since the XI-XII centuries it has been the center of cultural, historical and religious activities that have enriched the knowledge and cultural and social heritage of Calabria. At the same time the Cathedral has been for centuries a beacon for migrants from different countries to whom it continues to present itself as a place of fraternal meeting, where "they find space for moments and cultural events and also for interreligious prayer". Precisely this commitment to action for peace, connected with the monument for which recognition is sought, inserted in the historical reality and in the spirit of the people, in line with the constitutive act of UNESCO, it is the first condition for the attribution of the qualification that constitutes a commitment for peace. Our recognition therefore goes to the Cathedral of Cosenza, in the light of past events and future possibilities, which respond to the ideals to which the program is inspired, also with the hope that it will be ever more important to highlight the meaning of dialogue and 'meeting to build peace'. The path was started in 2006 by the promoters through a specific collection of signatures to which thousands of citizens responded enthusiastically" i.e Cosenza ASKED UNESCO to recognise the contribution and commitment of its Cathedral to the "Culture of Peace"

- https://dokodoc.com/la-cattedrale-di-cosenza.html . This document is nicely headed with UNESCO logos, it consists of a series of documents/letters/exchanges all in Italian between Sept 2011 and May 2012 which seem to indicate how it came to be that the Cathedral of Cosenza "acquired" the "honour" and who the active parties were.
Below is a partial (auto) translation of a letter FROM UNESCO (The Heritage for Peace Program) to the President of the "Club UNESCO of Cosenza" "Dear President I am very pleased to inform you that the request presented by you, in order to declare the Cathedral of Cosenza HERITAGE WITNESS OF A PEACE CULTURE according to the program launched by UNESCO in the year 2000, Year for the Culture of Peace, was accepted. The reasons given by you have been taken into careful consideration, and the presentation you drafted, which highlights the cultural and religious values ​​that over the centuries the Cosenza Cathedral has preserved and witnessed representing a symbol, was carefully evaluated. the encounter between cultures and openness to different religions and peoples, in the sign of peace. In this light, the Cathedral of Cosenza, since the XI - XII centuries, has been, as you underlined, "center of cultural, historical and religious activities" which have also enriched the knowledge and cultural and social heritage of Calabria. At the same time the Cathedral has been for centuries a beacon for migrants from different countries to whom it continues to present itself as a place of fraternal meeting, where "they find space for moments and cultural events and also for interreligious prayer". This message of peace is also addressed to tourists from all over the world, continuing a dialogue between different peoples, which testifies to the persistence of tradition, the involvement of citizens and the projection towards the future - a significant testimony of peace. As you know, on the basis of what was agreed with the UNESCO Office to which the program was entrusted, this very commitment to action for peace, connected with the monument for which recognition is requested, inserted in the historical reality and in the spirit of people, in line with the constitutive act of UNESCO, is the first condition for the attribution of the qualification which constitutes a commitment for peace. Our recognition therefore goes to the Cathedral of Cosenza, in the light of past events and future possibilities, which respond to the ideals to which the program is inspired, also with the hope that it will be ever more important to highlight the meaning of dialogue and meeting to build peace. It is recalled that the Italian Federation of UNESCO Clubs, in welcoming the invitation launched by the then Director General of UNESCO Federico Mayor, at the opening of the year for the culture of peace, intended to adhere to the express indication of enhancing the presence on the territory of artistic or natural realities which, due to the richness of the values ​​they bear witness to, can contribute to building a culture of peace. And it is in consideration of the strength of the message that these "monuments or sites" can offer in the area, to all citizens, especially young people, that this program presents itself as innovative, giving voice to the indications of those who live this reality. In this line, as you know, it is essential that the recognized monument or site continues to carry out its peace mission through programs, initiatives, conferences, training meetings aimed at building peace"

So -the Cathedral (via the Club UNESCO of Cosenza) ASKED to be recognised for its commitment to the UNESCO Culture of Peace Program and made a promise to continue with appropriate "programs" and "initiatives" . This was granted by UNESCO declaring the Cathedral a "HERITAGE WITNESS OF A PEACE CULTURE".
The award has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH UNESCO "WORLD HERITAGE" - though most people would think that it WAS!!!

I also wonder why the emphasis on "This is the first award given by UNESCO to the region of Calabria"???
As far as I can see the ONLY WHS in "Calabria" is the Pollino NP as part of the "Primeval Beech Forests" shared between Basilicata and Calbria and only inscribed THIS YEAR!! (2019!). Poor Calabria must have been feeling SO "left out" and of course it had failed to get Sila inscribed in 2017 (and again in 2019)! No wonder it was trying to claim Cosenza!

I found another one of these in the article about Foggia:

"Palazzo Dogana, the historical seat of the sheep custom. On July 2013 this Palace was elected by UNESCO as "Messenger Monument of the Culture of Peace" for its role in the cultural exchanges during centuries."

It seems Italy has been quite active with this program about the "Culture of Peace".

This phrase in Italian ("Monumento messaggero di una cultura di pace") seems to identify a fair number of places which have acquired/been granted the award. Quite why Cosenza adopted a different wording I don't know!
So e.g -
The Royal Palace of Carditelo - https://altritaliani.net/article-progetto-unesco-real-sito-di/
San Donato Sanctuary in Ripacandida - http://www.sandonatoripacandida.net/documenti/Monumentomessaggero.pdf

Translating from the Cardelito article it appears to be very much an initiative of the "Federazione Italiana dei Club e Centri UNESCO".
Indeed the translation (if correct) would seem to indicate that the honour is actually GIVEN by that Federation as part of its support for the UNESCO "Heritage for a culture of Peace Program"! ("As part of the project "Heritage for a culture of peace" launched by UNESCO in the international decade of the "Culture of Peace and non-violence, 2000 - 2010", the Italian Federation of UNESCO Clubs and Centers, in the person of its president Marialuisa Stringa, delegate for Italy to represent the UNESCO program "Heritage for a Culture of Peace" accepted the request of the UNESCO Caserta Club, to appoint the Real Site of Carditello "monument symbol of peace".)

At least the article makes it absolutely clear that the award is totally separate from the WHS system - at the same time it appears to confirm that the whole thing is under the control of the "Federation of UNESCO Clubs" - though whether such Clubs in countries other than Italy are giving out "awards" I don't know- . -
"The "monuments and sites of peace witnesses" fall exclusively within the program for the culture of peace, and therefore differ from the "World Heritage Sites" protected by UNESCO in accordance with the World Heritage Convention (1972). The artistic and aesthetic value is therefore secondary to this recognition. Instead, the concept that the place or site indicated must have represented - and must continue to represent it - a symbol of peace, felt as such by the citizens to whom the good indicated "belongs" symbolically, is instead primary. The value of the program was reconfirmed by the World Council of the Federation of UNESCO Associations, Clubs and Centers, meeting in Ekaterinenburg in Russia in August 2008, which indicated it among the priorities for the action of UNESCO Clubs around the world."

Yes, I have encountered the "Messenger Monument of the Culture of Peace" - it was my understanding that most of these plaques were erected in 2000, but that may not be the case. I know that I have encountered several in Italy (Calabria and Liguria). There are also some in South America. I wish I had kept my research on the topic so that I could be more help here. I may be able to dig into my photographs and find some of the plaques - which do not have the "World Heritage Site" logo but generally just text.

Nice review of the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont by Clyde, and what a great gift to remember the trip by!