World Heritage and War (Svetové dedi?stvo a vojna) je titul šiesteho zväzku z edície monografií ?Mediterraneum. Protection of cultural and environmental heritage? z vydavate?stva Massa Editore / Massa Publisher. Autorom knihy, ktorá vychádza v talian?ine a angli?tine, je profesor Fabio Maniscalco.

Title of the book, written by prof. Fabio Maniscalco, is World Heritage and War (texts in English and Italian).

The book has six chapters. The first one is about mechanical risks not caused by employment of weapons. Such risks can be mechanical or physical (i.e. damages produced by water and humidity, pollution and fire) and can be caused by human interventions (e.g. improper use of historical buildings or monuments, vandalism, abuse and inadequate post-war reconstruction).

In the second chapter practical examples of damages produced by ?indirect risks? are described: during an armed conflict there can be damages to historical buildings and monuments, to architectural decorations, to wall paintings and plasters, to mosaics on fixed support, to windows and glass doors, to libraries and to archives.

In war areas it is fundamental to organize preventive protection against the likely damages produced by weapons of different factions. Therefore, the author has dedicated the third chapter to the analysis and description of the characteristics and effects of weapons and explosives. In particular, a paragraph is dedicated to the weapons? effects against cultural heritage (e.g. aerial bombs, missiles, rockets, special bombs, mines, circumstance bombs and small-caliber weapons against immovable cultural property). Topical is also the paragraph about terrorism and cultural property, with relevant information Professor Maniscalco has gained during his long activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Kosovo and Metohija, in Albania, in Middle East, in the Maghreb, in West Africa and in Afghanistan.

In the 4th Chapter measures to safeguard cultural properties are described that would have to be put into effect in the event of armed conflict (e.g. use of ?sand bags?, activities of fire prevention and protection, activities of protection and conservation of wall paintings and mosaics, etc.).

The 5th chapter is dedicated to the protection of movable cultural heritage in war areas: archaeological and historical items, books and archival documents.

The 6th chapter of the book is about the aforesaid treaties. In particular, the 1st paragraph is dedicated to the normative evolution with regard to the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict; the 2nd and the 3rd paragraphs are about the 1954 Hague Convention and about the 1954 and 1999 Protocols to the Hague Convention.

Prefaces are by prof. Michael Petzet (President of ICOMOS) and by prof. Luigi Marino (University of Florence).

International Orders to: libroco@libroco.it <mailto:libroco@libroco.it> – massaeditore@libero.it

Zdroj: ICOMOS Slovensko & Obnova.sk