Cultural heritage

Unfinished quarters of a Bavarian palace create a striking backdrop for contemporary art

Imaginatively curated, the fourth edition of the Königsklasse exhibition is as monumental as the Herrenchiemsee Palace in which it is installed

Venice has no official plan for how to deal with climate change

A new report by Icomos details how the science/culture divide is stopping world heritage coming to the aid of climate change and urges speedy action

Unescocomment

A former Unesco chief denounces its failure to protect Venice at Baku meeting

“Where have the ethics and sense of a global mandate to protect the world’s heritage gone?”, asks Francesco Bandarin

Cultural divisions deepen in Jerusalem amid Israeli election campaign

Christian institutions are calling attention to their marginalisation in wake of Israel’s focus on Jewish-centric policies

Unesconews

In a first, Unesco gives Frank Lloyd Wright buildings World Heritage status

US architect's distinctive designs are among 29 designees recognised for their “outstanding value to humanity”

Booksarchive

Lost libraries and broken Buddhas: war, iconoclasm and social media

The history of cultural destruction as a propaganda tool

Cambodiaarchive

Cambodia to host culture and tourism conference

Preservation, cultural routes, urban regeneration through tourism are all set to be discussed

Cambodiaarchive

Light is finally being shed on the issue of restitution of looted art

The restitution of Cambodian statues by major museums and auction houses is an encouraging sign

Newsarchive

Great War memorials go online for first time

The project has already documented around 2,000 works

Newsarchive

Syrian war’s devastating toll on antiquities

Unesco places major national heritage sites on danger list as ground combat, air strikes and looting reduce ancient settlements to rubble

Tourismarchive

Return of Morgantina Venus inspires Sicilian tourism enterprise

Public-private tourism partnership aims to make more of the island’s heritage.

Cambodiaarchive

Demilitarised zone established to protect shelled temple on border between Cambodia and Thailand

Thai army cedes ground but future of Cambodian World Heritage site remains unresolved

Draft Unesco Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage would extend controls 200 miles out from the coast

If the draft is approved by two-thirds of member countries at the General Conference next month it will be sent out for ratification. US and Russian support unlikely.

Arles cultural centre falls foul of planning rules

French heritage authority wants Gehry-designed towers moved to reduce their impact on the city’s archaeology.

Another casualty of the culture wars

Damage to the Egyptian Museum is just the latest example of the politicisation of archaeology.

First evidence of damage to Gaza’s cultural sites emerges

Antiquities museum hit; fears grow for excavated archaeology.

Newsarchive

Georgia and Russia rattle their sabres over war damage

Both sides claim the other damaged historic buildings

Unesco to step in to examine so-called “pyramids”

Academics claim that the dig is “pseudo-archaeology”

Provenancearchive

US museum directors debate antiquities provenance dilemma

Should museums acquire objects without provenance, which may have been looted? Yes, say several panelists

Art tradearchive

Excavations and trade are essential to the study of antiquities

An international symposium hosted by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) comes together to discuss the art trade and cultural heritage preservation.

Iraqarchive

Iraq was turned into the world centre for the destruction and looting of some of humanity’s most ancient symbols of civilisation

And so it came to pass that not a single world renowned site or treasured museum was protected

Kosovoarchive

Unesco reconstruction plan for Kosovo

Lack of trust between Serbs and Muslims continues to hinder restoration efforts

How to protect British sites from the destruction of war after 1954 Hague Convention ratification

Now the UK is a signatory, it must consider how best to conserve its cultural heritage should an invasion ever occur

Iraqarchive

The destruction of culture in Iraq has been enormous; now conservation must be a priority

We can help by providing training in site management techniques, in museology and in conservation

Lootingarchive

Italy's attempt at curbing illegal art excavation and trade backfires

Make the citizen your ally if you want to save the nation’s past

Excavationarchive

Could the Bulaghi dam project be a blessing in disguise?

A modernisation project might just save an unearthed historical site in Iran that could one day prove to be invaluable to the study of the region.

Construction of dams in Iran submerges crucial archaeological sites

“To see this happen breaks my heart”, says archaeologist Dr Henry Wright