Berat included in UNESCO sustainability project

TIRANA, May 8 – The southern Albanian historic town of Berat has been included in a UNESCO project along with seven other regional sites to achieve sustainability through an integrated approach to the management of cultural heritage. The initiative is part of the EU funded Sustcult project which is also being implemented in Venice, Corfu, Ohrid, Hurezi Monastery, the Vipava Valley and Bacau.
“This project is a very complex event requiring the cooperation of citizens and public authorities and this is the reason this European project is being implemented. We will share our experience with other sites having the same difficulties and resources,” said Katia Basili, a project manager.
During this week, Berat was the host of a conference on disaster risk preparedness and management in cultural heritage sites jointly organized by the UNESCO Venice Office with the Sustcult project.
The event showed local stakeholders how an integrated approach is necessary for a good management of World Heritage sites, including the too often neglected risk dimension. An accomplished and inedited report, focused on first level of microzonation, conducted by a multidisciplinary team composed by Italian (CNR-IGAG) and Albanian researchers (Prof. I. Pojani, Prof. L. Duni) was presented to the public during the conference. The report depicts the magnitude of seismic and broader geomorphologic vulnerability at the World Heritage sites of Gjirokastra, Berat, Saranda-Butrint, including the Apollonia Archaeological Park. The work, co-sponsored by the One UN Coherence Fund, offered a first general glance of the Geomorphologic hazard at UNESCO World Heritage sites in Albania. The policy impact on risk may prove highly relevant as reliable scientific data should provide crucial support to the decision makers on geo-risk management in UNESCO designated sites. The data to be produced is, in fact, considered very sensitive among designated sites managers to adequately tailor actions according to the magnitude and nature of the risk(s) at stake.
The conference was followed by a “site by site” visit of UNESCO-ICCROM team at the World Heritage sites of Gjirokastra/Berat and Butrint. This, in order to secure a post-training coaching support to the heritage and civil protection professionals, useful to help their efforts in devising new management plans for their sites.
Since 2008, Berat has been inscribed as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417.
Berat bears witness to a town which was fortified but open, and was over a long period inhabited by craftsmen and merchants. Its urban centre reflects a vernacular housing tradition of the Balkans, examples of which date mainly from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. This tradition has been adapted to suit the town’s life styles, with tiered houses on the slopes, which are predominantly horizontal in layout, and make abundant use of the entering daylight.