Culture Club

Everyone knows UNESCO, or thinks they do ...

If you had to come up with a list of the greatest natural and man-made treasures of the world, don’t bother. UNESCO has already done it for you. Similar to food enthusiasts looking to Michelin stars as an indicator of some of the world’s great dining experiences, serious travelers seek out UNESCO World Heritage Sites as the gold standard to revealing the most memorable ancient places and natural wonders around the globe. It takes years to achieve this prestigious designation—and not everyone makes the cut. A site must meet specific criteria, with a final decision made by the international UNESCO World Heritage Committee after a thorough review.

But who or what exactly is UNESCO? Most of us know the acronym, but beyond that, the details are a bit fuzzy. UNESCO, which stands for United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is one of several independent United Nations’ groups formed immediately after the end of World War II to help repair the massive devastation caused by the war. These “specialized agencies” under the umbrella of the UN include UNESCO, which protects historical, cultural, and natural sites around the world, and is headquartered in Paris; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which fights hunger and is headquartered in Rome; and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) which promotes sustainable tourism and is headquartered in Madrid.

UNESCO’s goal after its formation in November 1945 was to restore education opportunities and scientific research in the pursuit of peace for all humanity. So, in the 1940s and 1950s, UNESCO’s initial efforts centered on rebuilding schools, libraries, and museums across war-torn Europe. The organization’s Paris headquarters, known as Maison de l'UNESCO, were inaugurated in 1958. Consisting of three wings arranged in a star-like formation, the building’s design was meant to symbolize the convergence of diverse cultures and ideas. In the 1960s, UNESCO’s focus expanded to include such international campaigns like rescuing the Nubia monuments of Egypt. It wasn’t until 1972, during a Convention addressing the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, that UNESCO would launch their landmark World Heritage List.

But first, UNESCO had to work out a strategy to create a list of the places around the world most in need and deserving of preservation. Those places were to be called “World Heritage Sites,” and it was agreed that member nations would recommend sites and commit to preserving them.  But it would take six more years to work out the details of how exactly the program would work. And finally, at a meeting held in Washington D.C. from September 5-8, 1978, the first 12 original UNESCO World Heritage Sites were chosen.

Recognition from UNESCO is not always a blessing ...

There is no question that designation by UNESCO can be a godsend—bringing in much needed money and global recognition to deserving destinations worthy of protection around the world. But there is also the possibility of bringing unsustainable levels of tourism to these same areas. This was something not accounted for in UNESCO’S original treaty as no one could have foreseen the scope of international tourism following the devastation of World War II. To cite just one example, regions of Italy are now struggling with overtourism—but it’s not just a question of too many people. The effects of deterioration due to human intervention and global warming are so pronounced in Venice, UNESCO has recommended it be added to its “blacklist” unless Italian authorities step up its efforts to protect the fragile city.

Watch out or you’ll get put on a list—or worse, taken off a list ...

UNESCO also informs the international community of any conditions that might threaten characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List. This could include anything from armed conflicts or poaching to uncontrolled urbanization and unchecked tourist development. And if corrective action isn’t taken, you might even find yourself removed from the list altogether. It’s rare, but UNESCO has “de-listed” three of its prestigious Word Heritage Sites thus far. The first to be removed was Oman’s Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in 2007 after Oman’s government reduced the sanctuary size by 90% to make room for oil drilling. Then, in 2009 Germany’s Dresden Elbe Valley was taken off the list following the construction of a four-lane bridge across the Elbe that impacted the visual beauty of the landscape. And most recently, Liverpool-Maritime Mercantile City in the U.K. was removed in 2021 because of high-rise developments that degraded the heritage value of the historic docklands.

Tourist vandalism became an increasing problem after the Roman Colosseum was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, forcing Italy to spend public funds on protective measures and security—a similar problem that many host countries must deal with at archaeological sites due to an influx of tourists. But designation by UNESCO can also raise awareness of threats that can bring harm to a region’s natural and cultural heritage. Because of their global cultural significance, UNESCO is credited with the halting of highway construction near Egypt’s Pyramids and for stopping a dam from being built above Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Actually, it is difficult to assess the direct economic impact of making UNESCO’s prestigious list. For example, Dubrovnik, Croatia, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site—but many attribute the walled city’s marked upsurge in tourism is far more due to its role as a filming location for Game of Thrones.

All in all, the end goal of UNESCO is to recognize that our cultural and natural treasures are irreplaceable and should be preserved for future generations. Visiting any one of the World Heritage Sites is truly an inspirational experience.

Ten fascinating facts about UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• Italia è numero uno—Of the currently 1,148 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 170 countries, Italy leads the way in the greatest number of sites with 61 in total. China is close behind with 60. With 26 listed sites, the United States is ranked 11th.
• Who says size matters?—The smallest World Heritage Site is the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, Czech Republic. At a little more than 2,000 square feet, you can walk around it in under a minute.
• At the other extreme—It would take considerably longer to swim around the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) in Kiribati, the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site by area. This mid-ocean wilderness in the remote Pacific about halfway between Hawaii and Fiji covers about 157,000 square miles.
• An overachiever—The country with the highest percentage of its area on the World Heritage list is Vatican City, which is more than 100%. The reason for this is that 100% of Vatican City itself is a World Heritage Site—but a second World Heritage Site, the Historic Center of Rome, is shared jointly with Italy and includes sites that Vatican City has extraterritorial control over (extraterritoriality is something that allows an embassy to operate under the laws of its own country when it is located on the land of another country).
• Sharing the wealth—The UNESCO World Heritage Site spread across the most countries is the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of triangulation surveys stretching across 10 countries: Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Moldova, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine.
• Hey, we don’t make up the rules—Due to religious restrictions, there are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites that ban women from visiting: Mount Athos in Greece and Okinoshima Island in Japan. Up to 200 men are allowed to visit Okinoshima, a sacred island located between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula, just one day of the year on May 27 to attend a two-hour festival honoring sailors who lost their lives in a naval battle during the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese war. Before going ashore, men must remove all their clothing and observe a centuries-old ritual called misogi—bathing naked in the sea to rid themselves of impurities. They are also prohibited from discussing their visit or taking home any objects including twigs, stones, or blades of grass. Other than that, it sounds strikingly similar to Coachella ...
• And the prize for the best-named Heritage Site goes to ...—Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump. This site in Alberta, Canada, pays homage to North American natives who would coax migrating buffalo to the edge of massive cliffs where they would fall to their deaths. At the bottom of the cliffs, waiting herdsmen would literally smash in the heads of the buffalo and process them for meat, hides, and bone tools. Thousands of American Bison skeletons can still be seen at the 6,000-year-old site.
• Not just some hole in the ground—The Vredefort Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Johannesburg, South Africa, is a 155-mile-wide, three-mile-deep crater that formed some two billion years ago when a six-mile-wide meteorite hit the Earth. Thought to be the oldest and largest meteorite impact site in the world, UNESCO describes it as the “greatest known single energy release event” in world history.
• Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear—Malpelo Island, a UNESCO World Heritage located some 300 miles off the coast of Colombia, is tailor-made for Jaws fans. With fishing prohibited on and around the island, it’s a haven for swarms of all manner of sharks—including some 500 hammerhead sharks, 1,000 silky sharks, rare short-nosed ragged-toothed sharks, whale sharks, deepwater sharks, and more. Probably not the best place to relax on deck while dangling your legs in the water ...
• UNESC-NOO!—Due to international politics, the United States has officially withdrawn from UNESCO three times. The first was in 1984, when the Reagan administration criticized the organization for a bias towards the Soviet Union. After rejoining in 2003, the U.S. left again in 2017, when the Trump administration cited anti-Israel bias (notably, while the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO, Israel remained a member state). The U.S. rejoined UNESCO during the Biden administration. In July 2025, the Trump administration announced the third U.S. departure from UNESCO, with a final exit date of December 31, 2026.

See how many UNESCO World Heritage Sites you can discover during our NEW Immersion in Italy: Venice, Florence & Rome by Train adventure.