Laura C. Mallonnee
Western media stories about cultural heritage destruction have recently focused on places like Syria, Iraq, and Libya. But a new report on Europe’s endangered cultural heritage sites offers a good reminder that preservation begins at home.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, the Brussels-based nonprofit Europea Nostra
has released a shortlist of 14 at-risk buildings, monuments, and
archaeological sites located in such unexpected places as Norway,
Finland, and France. Some, like the Venetian Lagoon in Italy, are widely familiar, while others — ever heard of Estonia’s Patarei Sea Fortress? — are not.
Each was nominated by members of Europa Nostra’s network and voted on by a panel of experts in disciplines
including history, archaeology, architecture, and conservation. In
March, the organization will narrow its list down to seven sites. It
will then help formulate a conservation action plan for each.
