A site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties[1] which are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.[2]
The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage,[3] which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on November 16, 1972. Since then, 185 states have ratified the convention.
As of 2008, 878 sites are listed: 678 cultural, 174 natural, and 26 mixed properties, in 145 states.[4][5] Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites to date with 43 sites inscribed to the list. UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with an identification number; but new inscriptions often include previous sites now listed as part of larger descriptions. As a result, the identification numbers exceed 1200 even though there are fewer on the list.
Link to the Official UNESCO Website: http://whc.unesco.org/
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