Italy has two new Unesco intangible heritages: Venaria hunting horn and glass beads

As of yesterday, Italy has two new Intangible World Heritage Sites inscribed on theUNESCO list: they are “The Musical Art of the Hunting Horn Players of the Venaria Palace Crew” and “The Art of the Glass Bead.” The proclamation of the two new heritages took place at the 15th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In the first case, the United Nations’ highest organization for culture honored the community of hunting horn players of the Savoy royal palace, an ancient art that originated between the 17th and 18th centuries, a symbol of the hunting parties of the courts of the Baroque era, and which was revived in 1996 by the non-profit Accademia di Sant’Uberto, which submitted the candidacy dossier. To this day the Academy carries on this renewed tradition with concerts held not only at the Reggia di Venaria but also in other venues, and by promoting exhibitions, research on the theme and publications.

In the second case, on the other hand, UNESCO granted its recognition to the Venetian art of glass bead making, long carried on by the so-called perlere, the craftswomen who specialize in this type of workmanship. In this case, the candidacy was overseen by the Committee for the Safeguarding of the Art of Venetian Glass Beads, which embarked in 2013 on the path that led to the recognition.

The candidacy path, in both cases of multinational level, was coordinated by the UNESCO Service of the General Secretariat of MIBACT, in collaboration with the communities and Ministries of Culture of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and officially presented to the Secretariat of Intangible Heritage in Paris in March 2019. Particular appreciations of methodological and relevance to the methods and purposes of implementing the Convention were expressed by the International Evaluation Body and confirmed in the Committee’s own assembly. With the two inscriptions, UNESCO recognized 14 Italian elements of intangible cultural heritage, increasingly marked by criteria of community participation, intercultural dialogue and the promotion of international cooperation.

“The number of Italian UNESCO sites rises to 69, including 55 inscribed on the World Heritage List and, with today’s two new ones, 14 inscribed on the intangible heritage list,” comments Cultural Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini. “A new record that confirms the richness of the national diffuse cultural heritage and that enhances the commitment of communities in the enhancement of the set of knowledge and traditions that distinguishes them.”

Ph. Credit Academy of St. Hubert

Italy has two new Unesco intangible heritages: Venaria hunting horn and glass beads

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