UNESCO cultural and natural heritage in Sicily

La Zisa, part of the Arab-Norman Palermo World Heritage Site

This page gives an overview of the different types of cultural assets and natural landscapes of the Italian region of Sicily , which are registered by UNESCO in their lists of heritage worthy of protection. In addition to the cultural and natural heritage sites of the UNESCO World Heritage protected under the World Heritage Convention , this also includes geoparks , biosphere reserves , intangible cultural heritage and world document heritage .

As of 2016, five cultural heritage sites and two natural heritage sites are entered in the World Heritage List for Sicily. In addition, Sicily has two global geoparks and two intangible cultural heritage assets, but no biosphere reserve and no world heritage document.

World heritage

Temple of Concordia in the World Heritage Site Archaeological Sites of Agrigento

Etna, world natural heritage site

Mozia, World Heritage candidate

The Archaeological Sites of Agrigento and the Villa Romana del Casale were registered as the first World Heritage Site in Sicily in 1997 . The youngest World Heritage Site in Sicily has been the Arab-Norman Palermo with the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale since 2015 .

Heritage sites

1997: Agrigento Archaeological Sites
1997: Roman villa in Casale
2002: Late Baroque towns in the Val di Noto
2005: Syracuse and the rock necropolis of Pantalica
2015: Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale

Natural heritage sites

2000: Aeolian Islands
2013: Etna

Tentative list

In Italy's current tentative list for world cultural heritage, there are from Sicily:

2006: Mozia and Lilibeo , the Phoenician-Punic civilization in Italy
2006: Taormina and Isola Bella

Formerly entered on the tentative list, but withdrawn or rejected by UNESCO, were:

1984–1996: Segesta Archaeological Site

1987: Selinunte Archaeological Park

1996–2011: Palermo old town , botanical garden and Monreale complex
Only seven buildings in Palermo in the Norman-Arabic-Byzantine style and the Cathedral of Monreale have been part of the World Heritage Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale since 2015 .

1998–2005: Cathedral and historic district of Cefalù
Only the Cathedral of Cefalù has been part of the Arab-Norman Palermo World Heritage since 2015 and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale .

2002–2005: coastal strip from Castellammare del Golfo to Trapani , with Erice , Mozia and the Egadi Islands

Since 2006 only Mozia has been on the tentative list as a single suggestion.

Global geoparks

Parco delle Madonie, geopark

2004: Parco delle Madonie
2004: Rocca di Cerere Geopark

Biosphere reserves

- none reported yet

World Heritage documents