The 'vela al terzo' of Romagna declared “intangible cultural heritage”

The ancient art of sailing with **Latin sail** and **'vela al terzo'** boats is about to be registered by **UNESCO** in the “**Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity**”, thanks also to the important “network” work carried out by the **Cesenatico Maritime Museum**, which promoted the international working group composed, in addition to **Italy**, of **Croatia**, **France**, **Greece**, **Spain**, **Switzerland**. The application dossier, which documents this important legacy of knowledge and techniques, actively handed down by numerous communities throughout the Mediterranean, was indeed delivered to the UNESCO office in Paris in recent days, and now awaits recognition, which should arrive by the end of the year.

In 2023, the Maritime Museum had already obtained, thanks to the work carried out together with the Superintendency of Ravenna, the recognition of “intangible cultural asset” for the 'vela al terzo' of Romagna by applying for the first time the new art. 7 bis of the Code of Cultural Heritage, and now it has been a decisive part of the UNESCO candidacy, in coordinating the large number of Italian associations that safeguard and hand down traditional Mediterranean sailing, which includes both Latin sail and 'vela al terzo' practiced only in the Adriatic.

Also decisive is the spread of **'vela al terzo' in Romagna** **(only in Cesenatico, thanks to the experience of the “museum port”, there are over thirty traditional boats)**, represented by the “Mariegola” association, which includes the main ports of the Riviera.

The UNESCO candidacy proposal for Latin sail and 'vela al terzo' was born within **AMMM**, the **Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums** currently chaired by Davide Gnola, director of the Cesenatico museum; while the complex presentation work was carried out by the **UNESCO Office of the Ministry of Culture** coordinated by Dr. Elena Sinibaldi together with Dr. Francesca Sani, Sandra Condorelli, Valentina Soviero, who also oversaw its registration in the national inventory. Croatia – with which Cesenatico has carried out important collaborations and European projects in recent years – coordinated the international working group.