Italy is the country with the most sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. 62 World Heritage sites have been registered in this country.
Modern.az reports that China is in second place with 61 sites. The top five are completed by France (56), Germany (55) and Spain (50). India is in sixth place with 45 sites.
Italy's high position on the list is associated with the extremely high density of world cultural heritage in this country. Monuments from the Ancient Roman period, medieval cities, as well as examples of art and architecture from the Renaissance period occupy a wide place in the list.
Italy's UNESCO list is not only composed of famous historical monuments. It also includes natural objects and cultural landscapes.
China's 61 World Heritage sites also cover several millennia of history and include large natural areas. In addition to imperial and religious heritage, archaeological sites, areas with unique biodiversity, karst landscapes and mountainous regions have also been included in the list.
In a broader picture, Europe and Asia together account for more than 70 percent of the World Heritage sites shown on the map.
For any site to acquire UNESCO World Heritage status, it must have “outstanding universal value” and meet at least one of the 10 criteria defined by the organization.
These criteria include conditions such as the object being considered a masterpiece of human creative genius, as well as being a valuable natural habitat of exceptional importance for the conservation of biodiversity.
UNESCO divides World Heritage sites into three main categories: cultural, natural and mixed.
