Conserving built heritage

The physical cultural heritage should be considered both in time and space. It no longer stops at the beginning of the nineteenth century but now also embraces the record left behind by the twentieth century. The aim is not only to preserve increasingly numerous items of cultural property but also to safeguard complexes which go far beyond single large monuments or individual buildings. Heritage has now been broadened to include both the human and the natural environment; both architectural complexes and architectural sites; not only rural heritage and the countryside but also urban, technical or industrial heritage, industrial design and street furniture.

Ancient monuments in 81 countries including Greece, Egypt, Italy, Indonesia and Cambodia, have been protected through the efforts of UNESCO, and international conventions have been adopted to preserve cultural property. Preservation measures are strengthened within the framework of the Strategy for the International Safeguarding Campaigns Programme.