MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru’s Machu Picchu among list of world cultural sites threatened

Underground too perilously close to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia

Peru's Machu Picchu ancient ruins, Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona and a New Orleans elementary school are among the cultural heritage sites threatened by neglect or overdevelopment, a preservationist group said.

The World Monuments Fund's watch list for 2010 includes 93 sites in 47 countries, ranging from Phajoding, a remote monastery in Bhutan, to the bridges along Connecticut's scenic Merritt Parkway.

“The 2010 watch makes it clear that cultural heritage efforts in the 21st century must recognize the critical importance of sustainable stewardship, and that we must work closely with local partners to create viable and appropriate opportunities to advance this,” World Monuments Fund President Bonnie Burnham said.

The monuments fund, dedicated to saving important landmarks around the world, said a new underground rail line in Barcelona will run perilously close to Gaudi's masterpiece, which was designed as an 18-tower church telling the tale of the Holy Family and has been under construction since the 1880s.

Also threatened by new development are traditional townhouses in Kyoto, Japan, called machiya, which date from the early 1600s and are considered models of their type throughout the country. The monuments fund said the townhouses are being torn down, diminishing Kyoto's cultural history.

Machu Picchu, an important Inca site and Peru's main tourist attraction, is threatened by its high volume of visitors.

The fund said two sites in New Orleans, St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 and the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, face continuing challenges following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the area in 2005.

The New York-based World Monuments Fund issues its watch list every two years.

The list was initiated in the mid-1990s to call attention to sites that are threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict or disaster. It's assembled by a panel of experts in archaeology, architecture, art history and preservation.

The last list, in 2007, was the first to add global warming to the roster of forces the monuments fund says are threatening humanity's architectural and cultural heritage.