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Italy joined the World Heritage Convention in 1978. With 62 inscribed properties, it is among the leading countries worldwide in terms of World Heritage Sites. Italy ranks 1st worldwide and 1st in Europe by number of World Heritage Sites. The majority of its sites are cultural properties, reflecting a strong emphasis on historical and architectural heritage. Some of these properties are shared with neighboring countries, demonstrating cooperation across borders in heritage conservation.

Italy as a State Party to the World Heritage Convention

State Party since: June 23, 1978

Status: Ratification

Mandates to the World Heritage Committee: 1978-1985, 1987-1993, 1993-1999, 1999-2001, 2021-2025

Total of Mandate Years: 25

Total of Mandates: 5

WHC Electoral Group: I (Western Europe/North America)

World Heritage Sites in Italy (62)

Cultural: 56 | Natural: 6 | Mixed: 0

Map of World Heritage Sites

This interactive map shows the location of all UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy.

World Heritage Inscription Timeline

1979
Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
1980
Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci
1980
Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
1982
Historic Centre of Florence
1987
Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
1987
Venice and its Lagoon
1990
Historic Centre of San Gimignano
1993
The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera
1994
City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
1995
Crespi d'Adda
1995
Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta
1995
Historic Centre of Naples
1995
Historic Centre of Siena
1996
Castel del Monte
1996
Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna
1996
Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
1996
The Trulli of Alberobello
1997
18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex
1997
Archaeological Area of Agrigento
1997
Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
1997
Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
1997
Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena
1997
Costiera Amalfitana
1997
Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)
1997
Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
1997
Su Nuraxi di Barumini
1997
Villa Romana del Casale
1998
Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
1998
Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula
1998
Historic Centre of Urbino
1999
Villa Adriana (Tivoli)
2000
Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites
2000
City of Verona
2000
Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)
2001
Villa d'Este, Tivoli
2002
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)
2003
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
2003
Monte San Giorgio
2004
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
2004
Val d'Orcia
2005
Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
2006
Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli
2007
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
2008
Mantua and Sabbioneta
2008
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes
2009
The Dolomites
2011
Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.)
2011
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps
2013
Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
2013
Mount Etna
2014
Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato
2015
Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale
2017
Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar
2018
Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century
2019
Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene
2021
Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles
2021
The Great Spa Towns of Europe
2021
The Porticoes of Bologna
2023
Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines
2024
Via Appia. Regina Viarum
2025
Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia – The domus de janas
2026
The system of Italian-style condominio theatres of the 18th and 19th centuries in Central Italy

Tentative World Heritage Sites (31)

  • Extension to the existing World Heritage Property “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe” · submitted: January 16, 2026
  • Evidence of Italo-Greek Culture between the Early and Late Middle Ages · submitted: December 13, 2023
  • The system of the Ville-fattoria in Chianti Classico · submitted: April 24, 2023
  • Historical theatres of the Marche Region · submitted: November 15, 2021
  • Nuragic monuments of Sardinia · submitted: November 15, 2021
  • Eocene Marine Biodiversity of the Alpone Valley · submitted: May 21, 2021
  • Via Francigena in Italy · submitted: January 31, 2019
  • Les Alpes de la Méditerranée · submitted: January 31, 2017
  • The Cultural Landscape of Civita di Bagnoregio · submitted: January 31, 2017
  • The cultural landscape of the Benedictine settlements in medieval Italy · submitted: March 18, 2016
  • Massif du Mont-Blanc (inscription comme patrimoine naturel transfrontalier, avec France et Suisse) · submitted: January 30, 2008
  • Lake Maggiore and Lake D'Orta lakelands · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Hanbury botanical gardens · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Orvieto · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Villas of the Papal Nobility · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Salento and the "Barocco Leccese" · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Cattolica Monastery in Stilo and Basilian-Byzantine complexes · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Archipelago of La Maddalena and Islands of Bocche di Bonifacio · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Mothia Island and Lilibeo: The Phoenician-Punic Civilization in Italy · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Bradyseism in the Flegrea Area · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Cascata delle Marmore and Valnerina: Monastic sites and ancient hydrogeological reclamation works · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Pelagos: The Cetacean Sanctuary · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Island of Asinara · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Sulcis Iglesiente · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • The Marble Basin of Carrara · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • The Transhumance: The Royal Shepherd's Track · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Volterra: Historical City and Cultural Landscape · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • The Murge of Altamura · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Karstic caves in prehistoric Apulia · submitted: June 1, 2006
  • Citadel of Alessandria · submitted: June 1, 2006

Source: UNESCO Tentative Lists

Country Profile Italy

Official Name: Italian Republic

Continent: Europe

Subregion: Southern Europe

UNESCO Region: Europe and North America

Capital: Rome

Population (2024): 58,986,023

Land Area: 295,720 km²

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Country Data Sources

About States Parties

States Parties are countries that have joined the World Heritage Convention. They commit to identifying, nominating, and protecting properties of outstanding cultural or natural value on their territory. States Parties are also expected to monitor and report on the condition of inscribed sites.

World Heritage Insights

How Politics and Institutions Shape the UNESCO World Heritage List

The UNESCO World Heritage List is usually seen as a catalogue of the world’s most important cultural and natural places. Yet behind every inscription there is a structured decision process: countries must first join the Convention, run for a seat on the World Heritage Committee, prepare nominations through a fixed procedure, and finally obtain enough votes for inscription.

World Heritage Info

Background

Learn about UNESCO, the World Heritage Convention, Tentative Lists, and how World Heritage Sites are selected and preserved. Explore the history, structures, and processes that protect humanity’s cultural and natural treasures.

Last updated: August 6, 2026

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