Improving the environmental, cultural and social sustainability of the Historic Centre of Urbino (Italy)

About Urbino

Urbino is a historic city located in the region of Marche, in central Italy. The city is in the central Apennines, at an altitude of 485 metres above the sea level. With a size of over 220 km², the municipality is home to just under 14,000 residents. In addition, Urbino is also home to approximately 15,000 university students who come to the city every year and are mostly housed within the historic centre. The Historic Centre of Urbino was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998 under criteria (ii) and (iv).

The small Italian hill town of Urbino became, for a short time during the Renaissance era, one of the major cultural centres in Europe. Today, the historic centre is defined by its Renaissance walls that survive virtually intact, complete with bastions. Within these walls, several buildings of extraordinary quality have been retained such as the Ducal Palace, the cathedral, the Monastery of Santa Chiara and a complex system of oratories. Urbino represents a pinnacle of Renaissance art and architecture, harmoniously adapted to its physical site and to its medieval precursor in an exceptional manner.

During the 15^th century, Urbino attracted artists and scholars from all over Italy and beyond which, in turn, influenced cultural developments elsewhere in Europe. Between 1444 and 1482, Federico da Montefeltro ruled in Urbino, and his court brought together some of the era’s leaders: foremost humanists of the time such as Leone Battista Alberti, Marsilio Ficino, and Giovanni Bessarione; mathematicians like Paul van Middelburg; and artists such as Luciano Laurana, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Paolo Uccello, Piero della Francesca and Ambrogio Barocci. These men created and implemented outstanding cultural and urban projects. This cultural climate made it possible for Raffaello, Donato Bramante and the mathematician Luca Pacioli to flourish in their own art and science.

According to the site manager of the World Heritage property, the strengths of the site are strongly linked to its rich cultural heritage and unique geographical position. They include the monumental and built heritage, urban identity, views, parks, agricultural landscape, traditional and organic agricultural practices, and traditional crafts such as bookbinding, engraving and printing.

On the other hand, the site is facing a number of challenges, such as:

• Low levels of awareness about heritage values amongst the local population (including its Outstanding Universal Value), leading to a lack of care and capacity to interpret heritage as an opportunity for local development.
• Social changes, including aging and transient populations.
• Transformation of the rural landscape, through mechanisation of agricultural activities and progressive abandonment and re-naturalisation of traditional agricultural landscapes.
• Climate change.

Improving the environmental, cultural and social sustainability of the Historic Centre of Urbino

In recent years, the Municipality of Urbino has carried out several actions to improve the environmental, cultural, and social sustainability of the city. These efforts will be included in the ongoing revision of the World Heritage Management Plan. Firstly, after adhering to the European Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the city has developed a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP). The plan includes a baseline review with an inventory of emissions and climate risk and vulnerability assessment, as well as strategies for Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation. The World Heritage site plays a key role in the plan, especially in the section related to adaptation, concerning the energy efficiency of the buildings in the historic centre. After adhering to the European Covenant of Mayors in 2010, in 2019 Urbino fulfilled this commitment and reduced its CO2 emissions by 25% .

Most recently, the World Heritage site of the Historic Centre of Urbino is carrying out an update of the World Heritage Management Plan. The update aims to protect and enhance the Outstanding Universal Value of the site while reducing its environmental impact, promoting climate adaptation and mitigation, guiding sustainable development, and involving the local communities.

The current Management Plan for the Historic Centre of Urbino was approved on 3 December 2013. It was based on an earlier 2003 Management Plan and its 2011 update. The 2013 Management Plan was funded by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage under the line of grants devoted to UNESCO World Heritage sites (National Law N. 77/06). The plan was developed by the Municipality of Urbino in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture – Superintendence of Marche Region, Provinces of Pesaro e Urbino, Mountain Union Alta valle del Metauro, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Archdioceses of Urbino, Urbania and S. Angelo in Vado, and ISA - Urbino Book School - Art Hight School.

The update is based on the 2013 Management Plan and responds to the recommendations of the ICOMOS Report dated December 2016. The update of the Management Plan aims to preserve and enhance the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, raise awareness about the site’s cultural values, integrate cultural heritage in the overall vision for the city and collaboratively design a path forward with the local communities. The process for the update of the Management Plan started in 2020 and is expected to come to an end in 2021.

The update will include the Urbino Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan and the Disaster Risk Management Plan, which includes an update of the Civil Protection Plan and a disaster risk analysis and reduction plan. It will also employ the approach of the Historic Urban Recommendation in the identification and protection of the historical layers of the city, and the integration of heritage conservation with short- and long-term urban development policies. It will address three key topics:

• Climate change prevention, adaptation and mitigation: involving actions to minimise the environmental impact of the city and adapt to the inevitable reality of climate change.
• Heritage-based local development: the aim is to make cultural heritage the main driver for sustainable local development.
• Sustainable agriculture: supporting and enhancing traditional and organic agricultural practices can help promote economic development, preserve the historic landscape and improve soil conservation.

The initiative is developed by a consortium of partners, including local, regional, and national authorities, and cultural and educational institutions. The main project partners are the Italian Ministry of Culture, Municipality of Urbino, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Marche Region, Provinces of Pesaro and Urbino, Archdiocese of Urbino, Urbania and Sant’Angelo in Vado, National Gallery of the Marche: Ducal Palace of Urbino, Raffaello’s House - Raffaello Academy, Erdis - Regional Body for the Right to Education, Alta Valle del Metauro Mountain Union; Montefeltro Mountain Union; Catria and Nerone Mountain Union; Valmarecchia Union of Municipalities; Local Action Group Montefeltro Development; Local Action Group Valli Marecchia and Conca. Other stakeholders include local associations, educational institutions, and neighbouring municipalities.

During the period of implementation of the current World Heritage Management Plan, the project team learned the importance of raising awareness and building knowledge amongst the residents on World Heritage values and their attributes and involving them in the conservation and management processes. Consequently, the review process will include a community consultation process, carried out by the University of Urbino Carlo Bo.

The consultation will use a variety of tools including working tables, questionnaires in-person and virtual meetings, and an online communications campaign through the website and social media channels of the Administration.

In-person surveys will be carried out by local students as an internship experience within their academic programme. The consultation will seek to understand the awareness of the local population about World Heritage and engage stakeholders in the update of the management plan.

Through the development of the Sustainable Energy and Action Plan and update of the World Heritage Management Plan, Urbino aims to address the challenges facing the city, such as climate change and environmental sustainability, and to propose a path for heritage-centred sustainable local development, designed in a collaborative way with the local communities. In doing so, Urbino aims to ensure the sustainability and habitability of the historic town for the years to come.

Source: Ms Luana Alessandrini, Urbino World Heritage Office, Municipality of Urbino, 2021.

To learn more

• Consult the World Heritage management plan for the Historic Centre of Urbino (English / Italian) and read about its update.
• Read about the actions taken by the World Heritage site to minimise its environmental impact.
• Learn more about the site on the website of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
• Read about the European project Life Sec Adapt to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation. 
• Watch the video presentation of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan (in Italian). 
• Watch “Urbino: un questionario sul Piano di Gestione del Sito Unesco”, an interview on the regional television channel with the project team carrying out the update of the management plan (in Italian). 
• Watch “Il Piano di Gestione del Sito UNESCO Centro storico di Urbino”, an educational video for children made by the Municipality of Urbino (in Italian)

Contact

Ministry of Culture – National Focal Point

• Email: adele.cesi@beniculturali.it
• Address: Via del Collegio Romano 27, c.a.p. 00186 Roma
• Website: https://www.unesco.beniculturali.it/struttura/

Urbino World Heritage Office

• Email: lalessandrini@comune.urbino.ps.it
• Address: Via Puccinotti n. 33, c.a.p. 61029 Urbino
• Website: http://www.comune.urbino.pu.it/

Image credits

• Cover image: Fridays for Future Urbino. © Luana Alessandrini, Comune di Urbino. 

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