The Museum of Anthropology hosted the first “Gulf of Genoa Meetings” on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing together Italian, French and Monegasque experts to discuss the protection of cultural heritage…
Jointly run by Blue Shield France and Scudo Blu Italia, the event marked a new step in cross-border cooperation on safeguarding monuments, collections and sites.
Often described as a kind of “Red Cross for heritage,” the Blue Shield emerged from the 1954 Hague Convention on the protection of cultural property in armed conflict. Revised in 1999, the convention broadened its scope to include natural disasters and accidents. Today the Blue Shield network promotes the convention’s principles internationally, with national branches coordinating training, emergency response and public awareness.
During the Monaco meetings, participants examined threats ranging from war and vandalism to fire, floods, earthquakes and the effects of climate change, especially rising sea levels that erode or submerge coastal archaeological sites. Discussions also stressed the need to prioritise excavations or documentation in endangered areas and to develop engineering solutions, such as wave-breaking systems, that could slow damage and buy time for conservation.
Covering a vast area from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur to Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Corsica and Sardinia, the Gulf of Genoa network seeks to build a culture of mutual aid. The meetings concluded with a shared commitment to cooperate more closely, exchange expertise and move from simple observation to proactive measures to protect heritage for future generations.
Image: Monaco Info
