Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata

• Building projects in the vicinity of the property (possible impact of the project of visitor centre at Torre Annunziata and storage facility project in Pompei)
• Visitor pressure
• Management system (issue partially resolved)
• Need to propose a new buffer zone (issue partially resolved)
• A series of structural collapses at the property (issue resolved)
• Inadequate restoration and maintenance; lack of skills (issue resolved)
• Inadequate funding (issue resolved)
• Ineffective drainage systems (issue resolved)

Total amount granted: USD 183 487: Italian Funds-in-Trust

On 1 December 2023, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829/documents/, which presents progress on the conservation issues previously addressed by the Committee, as follows:

• The financial resources and the human capacity for the management of all component parts of the property are stable and sufficient, and details of specific projects and budget allocations are provided;
• Updating of the Management Plan began in January 2023 and is foreseen to be completed in 2024;
• Continued efforts to stabilise and restore archaeological structures and decorative elements are underway, and systematic monitoring for necessary maintenance work is being prepared for both components;
• The legal procedure, including contractual arrangements, for the Porta Nola project should have been completed by the end of 2023, and the revised and updated design plans, together with a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), were reported to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, with a target date of March 2024;
• The planned new visitor centre at Torre Annunziata has been revised and will be limited to visitor reception and facilities, with the planned interpretation and other expanded functions relocated to the nearby ‘Spolettifico’ site, in response to the advice of the ICOMOS Technical Review in 2019 and 2022. Revised design plans for the visitor centre will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre once they are finalised;
• Multiple new projects are planned for the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum component, which will be notified to the World Heritage Centre in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

The group of planned changes and projects around the Herculaneum Archaeological Park component of the property, foreshadowed in the State Party’s report, were submitted to the World Heritage Centre on 14 February 2024, by means of an impact assessment report. They include projects to stabilise the edges of the archaeological area, projects to regenerate areas around the Archaeological Park, and projects to increase accessibility and improve the visitor experience.

The State Party should be commended for revising and extending the buffer zone of the property, which ensures the effective protection and preservation of its components and could be encouraged to include the area of Villa Regina in Boscoreale in the buffer zone with a further Minor Boundary Modification.

The updates to the management system of the property show a strong commitment and significant improvement. The detailed information provided on the financial resources of the components and the human capacity engaged in the management of the site indicate a stabilised post-COVID-19 situation. The information on the update of the Management Plan is welcomed and the State Party should be reminded that the final draft version of the document should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to adoption.

The numerous projects undertaken between 2021 and 2023 for the stabilisation and restoration of archaeological structures and decorative elements should be commended, as well as the progress made in establishing the systematic monitoring of archaeological remains, using state-of-the-art technology in the case of the Pompei component, to carry out the necessary maintenance work on an ongoing basis. This strategy ensures that the relevant archaeological databases are kept up to date and that the management system of the property is predictable and sustainable. The State Party has yet to provide a specific update on the conservation work completed on the buildings identified as at risk during the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission, as requested previously by the Committee.

With regard to the planned project at Porta Nola (Pompei component) for new depositories, staff offices and an archaeological storehouse, the design is being revised following the resolution of legal issues and the completion of related documentation. The revised project (due to be completed by March 2026) aims to reconstruct the pre-existing artificial hill and place the majority of the proposed building underground. The collection housed in the building will be open to researchers and visitors. Updated plans, together with a HIA, prepared in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any irreversible decisions are made.

Regarding the planned visitor centre at Torre Annunziata, following the 2019 ICOMOS Technical Review, online meetings between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS took place in 2021 and 2022, and ICOMOS provided additional reviews of updated design options. The revised current project design includes revisions to the scale of the visitor centre and limiting its planned function to visitor reception and facilities, with a proposal to relocate additional functions to the former armoury (the so called ‘Spolettifico’), which will be renovated and restored. It is acknowledged that the project is intended to improve the visitor management and experience of the two villas located in this component, but the proximity of the proposed new building to the remains of Villa Poppea remains a concern. The State Party should be requested to submit the final design plans for both the reduced visitor centre and the Spolettifico to the World Heritage Centre for review by ICOMOS prior to approval.

The impact assessment report submitted in February 2024 addresses 41 potential projects in and around the Herculaneum Archaeological Park component of the property, intended to stabilise the edges of the archaeological area, increase accessibility, improve visitor experience, and regenerate the area around the archaeological park. The report is intended to screen the projects and enable the State Party to identify which projects, if pursued, would benefit from specific and more detailed HIAs. The State Party has been invited to provide additional information on these projects to facilitate consideration of the impact assessment report.

In view of the reported improvements in the factors previously identified as affecting the property and the package of current proposals, the Committee may wish to consider requesting a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the current state of conservation of the property and the need for further reactive monitoring.