Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata

• A series of structural collapses at the property (issue resolved)
• Inadequate restoration and maintenance; lack of skills (issue resolved)
• Building projects in the vicinity of the property
• Management system
• Inadequate funding
• Ineffective drainage systems
• Visitor pressure

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

On 30 November 2018, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829/documents/, and presents progress in conservation issues previously addressed by the Committee, as follows:

• Based on the draft Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), common and site-specific values were identified for the whole serial property;
• Interventions to stabilize and restore structures and decorative surfaces and other actions (including monitoring tools, knowledge management systems, visitor access and service) have progressed at Pompei and Herculaneum;
• The Archaeological Park of Herculaneum was established as an autonomous organization (it was previously managed together with other Vesuvian archaeological sites by the former Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii, now the Archaeological Park of Pompeii - APP), and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with the APP; the latter is also responsible for Torre Annunziata. MoUs were signed between site management organizations and municipalities in the wider territory (including the proposed buffer zone);
• The Great Pompeii Unit (GPU), created as a temporary reinforcement of the site of Pompei through the Great Pompeii Project, is coming into its final stages within the property, and is handing back responsibility for conservation and management to the long-term institution, the APP. The GPU is now responsible for issues concerning tourism, economic and urban redevelopment, including the extended area proposed as a future buffer zone;
• Figures on permanent and temporary human resources and on financial resources are presented, reflecting both management organizations’ budgets in recent years;
• Development and implementation of a long-term intervention and maintenance plan and system for conservation and restoration at Pompei and Herculaneum have progressed, particularly at Herculaneum where programmed 3-year cycles of routine maintenance and periodic repairs are underway;
• The ongoing administrative dispute with the company that was carrying out work at the planned storage building at Porta Nola in Pompei still needs to be resolved. Plans to complete the building include a design to develop a partially-underground structure;
• In Pompei, hydrogeological stabilization works (to consolidate excavation fronts) bordering Regions III and IX were completed. The mitigation measures for hydrogeological risks in the Regions I; III, IX, IV and V are in progress (scheduled to be completed in March 2020). Works to consolidate and remodel site edges include the excavation of new houses;
• Design plans for a new visitor centre at Torre Annunziata, for Villa A, were developed and construction works began in December 2018. The visitor centre will be complemented by a museum in a former factory building next to the site.

Identification of shared and site-specific values for all property components is welcomed, however, for Torre Annunziata the identified values have not been linked to management.  The State Party should be encouraged to develop a detailed system of attributes for each component, with the aim of ensuring that objectives and decision-making in planning, implementation and monitoring activities are driven by the conservation and management of these tangible and intangible attributes that convey the property’s cultural values and their interdependencies with the wider setting. Future updates to the Management Plan should summarize how the management system in place achieves this better, and also in the context of short/medium term action plans. However, if the Management Plan is not used as a strategic management tool, then it might be more useful to document the management system (Paragraph 108, Operational Guidelines), which would provide greater transparency on decision-making mechanisms.

Information on both autonomous site management organizations, their potential collaboration and cooperation with the GPU and relevant municipalities is welcome, as is the GPU Strategic Plan. It should be clarified whether institutional or legal mandates foresee regular coordination platforms between the organisations’ directors and other actors for the long-term management of the wider territorial framework of this serial property. Further clarification is needed of the roles of the GPU and the APP as the Great Pompei Project closes. The updated Management Plan should include the applied management structure, and clearly-appointed responsibilities for its implementation.

Significant progress has been made to establish adequate long-term human resources for both site management organizations. It is noted that the property’s only permanent annual budget is based on ticketing; all other income relates to special projects.

The significant progress to stabilize and enhance the condition of structures and decorative surfaces for all three components is welcomed. Information is still needed on the status of the 13 buildings at Pompei identified as being at risk during the 2013 Reactive Monitoring mission. The programme of works for interventions and maintenance seems to be based now on continuous monitoring and application of the necessary actions in a repeated periodic manner. However, it is unclear if the reported system is already fully implemented. The State Party’s efforts to enhance the monitoring and knowledge management system and improve site security, visitor access and services have generated substantial improvements in the property.

Design plans for the major storage building at Porta Nola should be sent as soon as possible to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for review.

At Pompei, the hydrogeological stabilization works and mitigation measures for hydrogeological risks are partially completed. It is recommended that after completion, a separate report be sent to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies. The associated excavations have revealed significant new archaeological remains. Their conservation and long-term protection approach, including the resources involved, should be reported in the next state of conservation report.

Although the State Party’s report contains a summary of the design plans for the visitor centre at Torre Annunziata, the full documentation was not submitted to the World Heritage Centre as requested by the last Committee decision. The World Heritage Centre asked the State Party to provide the complete design documents for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and in the meantime to interrupt works which are already underway; and moreover, to inform the World Heritage Centre regularly and in due time about any project planned, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, as no information about the property has been received since the last Decision.

A request for a minor boundary modification, including a proposed change to the buffer zone, is still a pending issue. Since the incomplete resubmission in 2016, the State Party has not submitted a new request. Given the shortcomings of the components’ existing buffer zones, progress in this area is a top priority.

It should be noted with satisfaction that, among the factors affecting the property, issues related to the management system, inadequate funding and ineffective drainage system are partially resolved.