Southern Europe’s World Heritage

Teide National Park (Canary Islands, Spain), the Old Town of Corfu (Greece), and Višegrad’s Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge (Bosnia and Herzegovina) honored.

It’s always nice to see some destination or sight that’s not on the top of everyone’s must-see list named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That list recognizes places for their unique contribution to the patrimony of the world, for reasons that vary from cultural and historic to natural significance and scenic beauty.

I was especially pleased to see three new places in Southern Europe added in June, 2007.

Three Venetian forts and neo-classical homes earned Corfu’s Old Town, on the Greek Island of Corfu, a place in world cultural and historic patrimony as a fortified Mediterranean port town, an “urban and port ensemble…notable for its high level of integrity.”

The Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge in Višegrad (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was added for its outstanding monumental architecture and construction, representing the highest point of the Ottoman Empire’s 16th-century civil engineering. The 589-foot long bridge is supported by 11 stone arches, and was designed by Mimar Koca Sinan, whose work was done at the same time as the Italian Renaissance

Teide National Park, one of the highlights of the Canary Islands and the tallest peak in all of Spain, was cited for its natural beauty and its part in documenting the formation of volcanic islands.

While Spain already had 39 other sites and Greece’s total was brought to 17, the little former Yugoslav state of Bosnia and Herzegovina doubled its number with this year’s listing.

Spain’s other sites include world travel icons such as the Alhambra and Santiago de Compostella, while Greece’s list includes the Acropolis, Delphi and Rhodes. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the bridge in Višegrad joins the Mostar Bridge as a UNESCO site.