From archaeological sites to ingenious architecture and breathtaking landscapes, the Unesco World Heritage list has 21 new entries. Let's find out which ones, in Europe and around the world.
This year Italy didn't gain any new entries, but no matter: we're already at 51 and the 2017 nominations are already in preparation. We're talking about the 21 new World Heritage Sites, officially selected by the Unesco assembly that concluded as scheduled on 18 July in Istanbul, despite having been interrupted by the Turkish coup attempt.
Ranging from deserts, forests and marshes to archaeological sites and architectural structures, the 2016 new entries are found mainly in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With the new inscriptions, the Unesco list now counts 1,052 sites across 165 countries: of these, 814 are sites of cultural interest, 203 of environmental interest, and 35 are a mix of the two.
If you were passionate about history at school, you may remember it for the battle that pitted the assassins of Gaius Julius Caesar against the Second Triumvirate, made up of Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. The city of Thrace, founded in the 4th century BC and conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century BC, was also the first European locality to be evangelised by Saint Paul. The site, now a Unesco World Heritage Site, features a theatre, a temple and a forum, as well as the remains of a basilica.
This comprises four volcanic islands of great importance for geological studies worldwide, as well as for research into terrestrial and marine biodiversity. 3.5 billion years ago, an expansion of the ocean floor took place at this location. The archipelago is also a stopover and study point for seabirds and a habitat for wildlife.
The 38 rock art sites, dating from the 5th century BC to the 2nd century AD, illustrate the life and rituals of the Luoyue people. They are found on steep cliffs in the border regions of south-western China. They are considered to be the last surviving evidence of the Neolithic Dong Son bronze drum culture.
Megaliths are not found only in northern Europe. Those of Antequera, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC, lie in the heart of Andalusia, in southern Spain: the site includes the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of El Romeral, along with two natural monuments: Peña de los Enamorados and El Torcal. These are prehistoric funerary mounds.
This forest system, located in central-eastern China, represents one of the three most important centres of biodiversity in China: it is home to various animal species including the Chinese giant salamander and the clouded leopard, and is the habitat of 5,000 plant species.
If you're a fossil enthusiast, this is not to be missed. Mistaken Point, located in eastern Canada on the south-eastern tip of the island of Newfoundland, consists of a 17 km stretch of rugged cliffs ranging in age from 580 to 560 million years. The fossils found here bear witness to the emergence of biologically complex organisms.
The site is located in the state of Bihar, in north-eastern India: it comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution active from the 3rd century BC to the 13th century AD. Nalanda, which witnessed the development of Buddhism and the flourishing of the Indian monastic tradition for 800 years, is effectively described as the "oldest university" of the Indian subcontinent.
We are in the captivating eastern Caribbean. The site, consisting of a group of Georgian-style naval buildings and structures, served as a base for the British Royal Navy until it was abandoned in 1889. The construction of the dockyard by the British navy would not have been possible without the labour of generations of enslaved Africans.
The city, located in north-eastern Turkey on the border with Armenia, flourished between the 10th and 11th centuries and was the capital of the Armenian Bagratid kingdom, taking control of a branch of the Silk Road. The decline of the site, rich in residential, military and religious structures, dates back to the Mongol invasion and a devastating earthquake.
This is a sandstone landscape shaped by wind and water over millennia. The thousands of paintings and engravings constitute the foremost example of rock art in the Sahara.
The steep limestone cliffs on the eastern side of the Rock of Gibraltar contain four caves with archaeological and palaeontological deposits that provide evidence of Neanderthal occupation spanning more than 100,000 years.
We are in the heart of the Indian Himalayas: this ancient and sacred place, keeper of the myths and legends of the Sikkim people, forms a unique ensemble of valleys, lakes, glaciers and mountains.
Dasht-e Lut, as it is originally known, is located in the south-east of the country. Between June and October the site is swept by strong winds, giving rise to spectacular yardang dune formations.
A single site encompassing two separate areas: the Sanganeb coral reef in the Red Sea, and Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island, 125 km north of Port Sudan. In addition to corals, the ecosystem includes mangroves, seagrasses and islets.
The Pampulha Modern Ensemble was at the heart of a garden city project created in 1940 in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The buildings, which exploit the potential of concrete, were designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer in collaboration with innovative artists.
This comprises around a hundred islets built off the south-eastern coast of Pohnpei using basalt stones and coral boulders: these places contain the remains of stone palaces, temples, tombs and noble residences built between 1200 and 1500, testimony to a flourishing period for the Pacific islands. The site has also been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to threats such as the silting of waterways, which encourages the uncontrolled growth of mangroves, undermining existing structures.
What has been recognised by this Unesco nomination are the typical limestone-carved tombstones dating from the 12th to the 16th century known as "stećci". They are found across 28 cemetery sites spread throughout Bosnia, Herzegovina, western Serbia and Montenegro, and south-central Croatia.
The seven sites in southern Iraq that have received the World Heritage nomination comprise three archaeological areas and four wetland zones. The remains of the ancient Mesopotamian cities of Uruk, Ur and Tell Eridu, dating from the 4th and 3rd millennia, rise along the marshy deltas of the Tigris and Euphrates, a unique environment that is extremely hot and arid.
This nomination was intended to recognise the genius of Le Corbusier, a Swiss-born, naturalised French architect and urban planner of the 20th century who demonstrated an ability to blend architecture with the needs of citizens. The 17 sites are spread across 7 countries and include, among others, the Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh (India), the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo (Japan), the Casa del Doctor Curutchet in La Plata (Argentina), and the Unité d'habitation in Marseille (France).
The term qanat denotes a water-transport and irrigation system made up of vertical shafts similar to wells and a gently sloping underground channel; developed in Persia, it spread to other arid regions of Iran along the Silk Road.
The reason for the nomination is the variety of landscapes found within this mountain system, one of the largest ranges in the world, which is home to extraordinarily rich biodiversity.