Priorat-Montsant-Siurana paysage agricole de la montagne méditerranéenne (07/02/2014) Spain

So what is being proposed is a region of agriculture that is an "evolving" landscape. One that illustrates organized land use continually, exploiting its resources throughout history. There is also an element of a "sacred mountain" coinciding with Mediterranean agricultural practices.

The last 3 Spain nominations are Cultural Landscapes
Valle Salado de Añana (2012) = Salt Production
La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa Vine and Wine Cultural Landscape (2013) = Wine Vinyards
Priorat-Montsant-Siurana paysage agricole de la montagne méditerranéenne (2014) = Mediterranean Agriculture (Fruits & Wine?)

It lies just inland of the notorious beach resort Salou...

well there is one to look forward to visiting!

Complete Revamp of Greece Tentative List (15)

- Late Medieval Bastioned Fortifications in Greece (2014)
- National Park of Dadia - Lefkimi - Souflion (2014)
- Ancient Lavrion (2014)
- Petrified Forest of Lesvos (2014)
- Archaeological site of Ancient Messene (2014)
- Minoan Palatial Centres (Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Kydonia) (2014)
- Archaeological site of Nikopolis (2014)
- The broader region of Mount Olympus (2014)
- Archaeological site of Philippi (2014)
- The Area of the Prespes Lakes: Megali and Mikri Prespa which includes Byzantine and post-Byzantine monuments (2014)
- Gorge of Samaria National Park (2014)
- Fortress of Spinalonga (2014)
- Ancient Towers of the Aegean Sea (2014)
- Zagorochoria – North Pindos National Park (2014)
- Ancient Greek Theatres (2014)

This is a renomination of a site that had disappeared from a previous tentative list.


And the same move as suggested at our Top 50 missing to extend it beyond Knossos alone ( http://www.worldheritagesite.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=6&topic=24 )

And this is an extension of Corfu WHS

All previous entries on the Greece Tentative list have been re-nominated or developed into serial sites. There are 7 completely new nominations.

and of Rhodes!

Does anyone know why Santorini is still missing?

Is there a significant cultural landscape still intact with structures from a specific period? I was reading the wiki page about Santorini and it stated: "When strong earthquakes struck the island in 1956, half the buildings were completely destroyed and a large number suffered repairable damage."

Has anyone visited the island, is there an authentic landscape or group of structures that is representative of an architectural or cultural achievement worthy of world heritage status? Or is it just a beautiful island, which benefits from a certain aesthetic found within most buildings?

What we see today in the beautiful pictures are at the earliest from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many (if not most) are post-1956. Is the late 19th century prosperity of mercantilism and trade in Santorini a significant element to justify OUV?

What about Akrotiri as Minoan site?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_% 28Santorini%29

Well Greece tried with Akrotiri way back in 1989 and it got deferred - so that is 2 of the "Top 10 missing" which UNESCO had the chance to inscribe but decided not to at the time (with Ephesus)!!

This PhD paper by a Greek student considers what the Greek inscribed and tentative lists tell us about how Greece has seen itself across the time of the WH scheme (and on how the rest of the World sees Greece!). It may be of interest in showing the approach which Greece had been following. It predates this latest T List of course
http://www.academia.edu/1541649/Heritage_in_Greece._The_national_narrative_told_by_th e_Greek_World_Heritage_List

He wasn't (page 40) able to shed much light either on why Akrotiri got deferred nor on why Greece has never pursued the matter further . For the original referral he should have looked at the Bureau meeting report Page 8 - it wanted the whole island inscribed! See http://whc.unesco.org/archive/1989/sc-89-conf003-12e.pdf .
Note that it states that Oia and Phira were on the Greek T List at that time - I presume they must have been removed at the time of the next T List?

Considering the site's possible credentials on Natural Criteria - this extract of a book from 2013 considers the situation regarding the inscription of Volcanic sites around the worldand quotes an older comment on the number of iconic ones "missing" including Santorini - Etna and Mt Fuji from that list have since been inscribed so it could be that UNESCO is likely to be a bit unimpressed with the Volcanic potential of the site. See page 229 of
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1R18AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=santorini+world +heritage+unesco+tentative+list&source=bl&ots=H7YRYrE4Se&sig=vyUqA7LsMsw8OgB7-O6_hVCA m9k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FJkwU8PoNYq2hQfPpYDIAw&ved=0CGcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=santorini%20worl d%20heritage%20unesco%20tentative%20list&f=false

Maybe its catastrophic explosion in pre-Classical times could be the key for a possible inscription? Only Krakatoa has gripped the imagination about volcanic islands as much as Santorini - and Santorini has a good claim to be the original inspiration of the myth of Atlantis (the mystical criterium VI could even be used). Not to mention that it might have nearly destroyed Minoan civilization.

And the "Ancient Greek Theatres" nomination includes the existing sites of Delphi, Delos and Epidauros. Not sure if this makes any sense.

Will they follow the Camino Real example of Mexico (to include everything twice), or the serial site in nomination by the Scandinavian countries of all Viking Sites (to combine them all into one new one)?