Places of interest05 November 2014

The Sea Alps and Montecarlo compete for Unesco World Heritage status

The application for the Unesco World Heritage was launched on October 25

The Sea Alps and Montecarlo compete for Unesco World Heritage status

The Alps of the Sea, Montecarlo included, now compete to be classified as part of the Unesco World Heritage. 

The Alps of the Sea or Maritime Alps include the south-western part of the Alps, and are so defined because they are the area closest to the sea.  

They mark the border between Italy and France. They are considered unique and therefore deserving to be included in the Unesco World Heritage list because of their geologic history.

In past ages, the Alps were attached to the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia. Following the interaction of the continental plates, the two islands separated and assumed the configuration we know today, in an almost perpendicular position to the axis of the Alps.

The sea between the islands and the Alps reaches ocean depths, and the territory between Colle della Maddalena and the coast, thanks to its geographic, geologic and climatic characteristics, host a huge variety of flora and fauna species, some of them specific to this area.

Both sides of the Sea Alps are protected. On the Italian side there is the Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime (Maritime Alps Natural Park) and on the French side stretches Mercantour National Park. The latter is internationally known for its Valley of Wonders, characterised by rock engravings from the Bronze Age.

The application for the Unesco World Heritage was launched on October 25, in the hall of honour of the municipality of Cuneo.

The organisations working on the projects are the Natural Park of the Maritime Alps and Mercantour National Park, together with Marguareis Park, the Ligurian Alps Park, some sites of Community importance of the province of Imperia and the protected regional Area of Villa Hanbury’s botanic gardens. 

Giulia Luzi

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