From the World Heritage inscription: The importance of Diocletian’s Palace far transcends local significance because of its level of preservation and the buildings of succeeding historical periods, starting in the Roman period, which form the very tissue of old Split. The palace is one of the most famous and integral architectural and cultural buildings on …
One of the more iconic sites in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina—the old bridge in Mostar—is actually not that old. At least, the current incarnation of Stari Most is a lot newer than one might think given the bridge’s long history. Originally built in 1557 under the administration of the Ottoman Empire, it was destroyed …
From the World Heritage inscription: The culturo-historical region of Kotor has exerted considerable influence, over a span of time and within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture and human settlement. Kotor and its neighbors were main bridgeheads of Venice on the southern Adriatic coast. Its art, goldsmithing, and architecture schools had …
From the World Heritage inscription for Quseir Amra: Quseir Amra bears exceptional testimony to the Omayyad civilization which was imbued with a pre-Islamic secular culture whose austere religious environment only left behind insignificant traces in the visual arts. It is the best conserved architectural ensemble, if not the most complete, of all the Omayyad palaces …
From the World Heritage inscription for Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa’a): Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa’a) is strongly associated with monasticism and with the spread of monotheism, including Islam, throughout the region. The artistic and technical qualities of the mosaic floor of St Stephen’s church justify describing Um er-Rasas as a masterpiece of human creative genius. It …
From the World Heritage inscription: The early Christian religious monuments in Ravenna are of outstanding significance by virtue of the supreme artistry of the mosaic art that they contain, and also because of the crucial evidence that they provide of artistic and religious relationships and contacts at an important period of European cultural history. In …
From the World Heritage inscription: Ferrara is an outstanding planned Renaissance city which has retained its urban fabric virtually intact. The developments in town planning expressed in Ferrara were to have a profound influence on the development of urban design throughout the succeeding centuries. The brilliant Este court attracted a constellation of artists, poets, and …
From the World Heritage inscription: The joint creation of Lanfranco and Wiligelmo is a masterpiece of human genius in which a dialectical relationship between architecture and sculpture was achieved in Romanesque art. The Modena complex bears exceptional witness to the cultural traditions of the 12th century and is one of the best examples of an …
From the World Heritage inscription: In its urban structure and its architecture, Verona is an outstanding example of a town that has developed progressively and uninterruptedly over 2,000 years, incorporating artistic elements of the highest quality from each succeeding period. It also represents in an exceptional way the concept of the fortified town at several …