On Monday, December 15, the meeting “UNESCO Pathways in Italy: experiences from recognized candidacies and perspectives for the cultural landscape of Chiaravalle” took place at Bocconi University in Milan. The event was organized by BIA and promoted by the Municipality of Milan and Municipality 5.

The event is part of the institutional process launched for the candidacy of the Chiaravalle area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for which BIA prepared the pre-feasibility study in collaboration with Bocconi University. It represented an important opportunity for dialogue between institutions and experts on UNESCO recognition processes in Italy and their strategic value for territorial development.

The meeting opened with institutional greetings and the presentation of the project by Gaia Romani (Councillor for Decentralization, Neighborhoods and Participation, Civic and General Services of the Municipality of Milan), Tommaso Sacchi (Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Milan), and Natale Carapellese (President of Municipality 5). Their contributions highlighted the importance of UNESCO candidacy as a tool for enhancing cultural and landscape heritage, capable of activating shared, long-term processes based on collaboration between institutions, local communities and territorial stakeholders.

The panel, moderated by Piergiacomo Mion Delle Carbonare (Director of the Master in Arts Management and Administration (MAMA) at Bocconi University and Head of the FAI Milan Delegation), featured authoritative representatives of Italian organizations with consolidated experience in the UNESCO field.

Aurelio Angelini, environmental sociologist and President of the National Committee for Education for Sustainability, explored best practices and the different phases of the UNESCO candidacy process, emphasizing how these pathways strengthen awareness of heritage value and community involvement.

Claudio Cecchinelli, Head of the Culture and UNESCO Service of the Municipality of Bergamo, shared the experience of the international candidacy of the Venetian Walls of Bergamo, offering reflections on strategies for managing a site recognized at an international level.

Mauro Carbone, Destination Manager for the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato area, illustrated the role of territorial enhancement policies and sustainable cultural tourism within a UNESCO site, highlighting the importance of an integrated and shared vision.

Angelo Boscarino, CEO of BIA, reaffirmed the value of the Chiaravalle candidacy as a participatory cultural planning process, based on the concept of cultural landscape understood as a living system of relationships between heritage, territory and community.

During the discussion, it emerged that UNESCO candidacy processes do not represent a form of static conservation, but rather an opportunity for cultural, social and economic growth. These pathways actively involve local communities, strengthening a sense of belonging and collective responsibility, and encouraging a re-reading of urban and landscape contexts beyond stereotypes and consolidated views.

Such processes can also open up further development trajectories, such as recognition as a UNESCO Creative City or other European-scale cultural initiatives, contributing to the construction of sustainable, future-oriented models of territorial enhancement.

The meeting represented a significant step in the journey toward the candidacy of the Chiaravalle area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, confirming the value of institutional dialogue and cultural planning as fundamental tools for territorial development.