Page 8 - CoESPU Magazine 2017-3

heritage since communities identify themselves with the natural landscape. Whit reference to this
group of material objects, we can define them as “tangible cultural heritage”.
By contrast, “intangible cultural heritage” consists of immaterial elements such as traditions, oral
history, performing arts, social practices, traditional craftsmanship, representations, rituals,
knowledge and skills transmitted from generation to generation within a community.
The outstanding characteristic of cultural heritage is its great vulnerability, especially during times
of conflict. Therefore the cultural heritage needs to be perpetually preserved and protected from any
threat.
Historically, World War II resulted in a heavy toll of massive destruction of cultural sites and
looting of art objects throughout Europe and around the world. It revealed the shortcomings of
previous conventions oriented to cultural heritage protection, such as the 1899 Hague Convention
(Prohibiting the Deliberate Bombardment and Destruction of Heritage Sites or Looting of Cultural
Property), the 1907 Hague Convention and the 1935 Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and
Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments.
Post war, the 1954 Hague Convention (Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Event of Armed Conflict) was the first legal framework to set rules on how to identify cultural
property to be protected, marking it with an internationally recognized emblem represented by a
blue shield, how to register its protection under the Convention, and how to evacuate the property
when threatened by an imminent damage.
Since then, the legal framework of provisions to protect the cultural heritage has been widely
developed, involving a multidimensional range of regional and international organizations.
In this regard it looks pertinent to mention the following relevant conventions and previsions: the
1970 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Convention, the
1972 UNESCO Convention, the 1995 UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of

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