Italia Nostra (''Our Italy'') is an Italian
not for profit organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the country’s historical, artistic and environmental patrimony.
History
The organization was formed on 29 October 1955, by
Umberto Zanotti Bianco, Pietro Paolo Trompeo,
Giorgio Bassani, Desideria Pasolini dall'Onda, Elena Croce, Luigi Magnani,
Hubert Howard
Hubert John Edward Dominic Howard (23 December 1907 – 17 February 1987) was an English intelligence officer who lived in Italy.
Early life
Howard was born in Washington, D.C. on 23 December 1907. He was educated at the Downside School in Somerse ...
, and Antonio Cederna, a small group of people drawn from the
Roman intelligentsia with the specific aim of opposing the projected demolition of part of the city’s historic centre. The promotion of an approach to
urban planning which preserves sites of historic architecture has remained a focus of the movement; however its interests have expanded over time to include the preservation of all aspects of Italy’s cultural and environmental heritage, and more than 200 branches have been established across the country. Successes have included the campaign that led to the establishment of the
Appian Way Regional Park in 1988.
In 1989, Italia Nostra opposed the restitution of the Venus of
Cyrene to Libya. The same year, after a
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
concert in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
that caused partial historic site deterioration in the city, the Italia Nostra filed a complaint against the city's officials for misconduct and corruption. In 1999, after workers unearthed an ancient Roman villa wall while building the foundations of a new parking lot in the Vatican (nicknamed "God's parking lot"), the Italia Nostra lobbied to stop the construction project.
In July 2009, the Italia Nostra gave up on the management of the
Parco delle Cave
Parco can refer to:
* Parco, Tibet, a town in China
* Parco (retailer), a chain of department stores primarily in Japan
* Parco Historic District (also known as Sinclair Historic District), Sinclair, Wyoming, United States
* Parco P.I., a reality ...
in
Milan for political reasons. In 2011, the Italia Nostra raised the alarm on Venice's 59,000 daily tourists, reminding the press that the daily tourists limit in the city was set to 33,000 since a 1988 study. The organization has been a long-time opponent of large cruise ships sailing through Venice's lagoon.
In May 2019, The Italian Association of Environmental Excursion Guides and Italia Nostra inked a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a common strategic collaboration to protect and describe the Italian patrimonial heritage. In July 2019, the Italia Nostra asked
UNESCO to include Venice and its laguna in the
list of World Heritage in Danger. In October 2019, the Italia Nostra opposed the temporary transfer of the ''
Vitruvian Man'' from the
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia to the
Louvre in Paris.
Presidents
* 1965–1980:
Giorgio Bassani
* 1998–2005: Desideria Pasolini dall'Onda
E' morta Desideria Pasolini dall'Onda, la fondatrice di Italia Nostra
/ref>
* Carlo Ripa di Meana
Carlo Ripa di Meana (15 August 1929 – 2 March 2018) was an Italian politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament, a European Commissioner with portfolio for the environment and was environment minister of Italy. He was the leader of t ...
* Giovanni Losavio
* ...–May 2017: Marco Parini
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
Organizations established in 1955
Nature conservation in Italy
Environmental organisations based in Italy
Cultural organisations based in Italy
1955 establishments in Italy
Historic sites in Italy
{{Italy-org-stub