The World Monuments Fund has released its 2016 World Monuments Watch list of 50 cultural heritage sites at risk in 36 countries around the world. The list, in its twentieth year, seeks to identify sites “at risk from the forces of nature and the impacts of social, political, and economic change,” and direct financial and technical support towards them.
The 2016 list includes the entirety of post-earthquake Nepal, an underwater city, the only surviving quadrifrons arch in Rome, and a structurally significant hyperboloid tower, among others. The Fund even featured an “Unnamed Monument” on the list, in honor of all sites at risk of damage from social and political instability around the globe.
Learn more about some of the featured monuments, after the break.
Cultural Heritage Sites of Nepal
Nepalese architecture took a major his this past April with the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that destroyed many important cultural sites. While not one of Nepal’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu was one of the worst affected sites.
Pavlopetri; Elafonisos, Greece
Pavlopetri, the oldest submerged city in the world, lies just off the coast of Elafonisos, Greece. With more ships and smaller boats mooring in the bay, the city is at a higher risk than ever for damage from ballast water, hull-cleaning chemicals, shifting sediments, and looting.
The Arch of Janus is the only surviving arch in Rome with four fronts, dating from the fourth century, and is the only monument in the Forum Boarium that has yet to be restored. Covered in black stains and vegetation, and surrounded by a daunting fence, the Arch is in need of restoration to save it and bring it up to par with surrounding monuments.
Rising 40 stories tall, Shukhov Tower, also known as the Shabolovka Radio Tower, is an important monument in the history of structural engineering. Built from six stacked hyperboloids made of straight segments, the design is lightweight and stable, but now suffers from corrosion and is faced with local threats of destruction.
See the full list of endangered sites, here.
News via the World Monuments Fund.
