Prosecco Hills Earns Italy’s 55th Spot on UNESCO World Heritage List

The 43rd session of UNESCO World Heritage committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan; courtesy of ICCROM (@ICCROM) | Twitter.

Italy, now tied for the world’s leader in registered UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) sites, adds yet another site to its already impressive number. On July 7th, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee announced that the Prosecco Hills, the Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in Veneto, Italy, are now the tenth addition to the “cultural landscape” category of the UNESCO World Heritage List in Italy.

the Prosecco Hills (The Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene) in Veneto, Italy; courtesy of Valdobbiadene.com.

The Prosecco Hills are aptly named for their leadership in the production of Prosecco wine—the most popular selling sparkling wine, with sales that continue to increase year by year. Although it seems as though the region would be a shoe-in for the UNESCO World Heritage list spot, considering its great influence in the market of Prosecco, the region has been struggling to make it a reality; the region has been working on their nomination for almost a decade, and last year their bid was short by just a few votes. Thankfully, the committee decided to approve the region for UNESCO World Heritage site status this year at their annual committee meeting.

Prosecco; courtesy of Venetoinside.com.

This is great news for the region, which expects to see a huge growth in tourism, and a positive bump in the region’s economy. Moving forward, the region has stated its devotion to ensuring that the increase in popularity and tourism will be controlled in order ensure that the influx is sustainable and beneficial to the region.

–Shauni Bernier

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