Is it worth being inscribed in the world heritage list? A case study of 'The Baroque cities in Val di Noto' (Sicily)

This article deals with the effects of the inscription of a cultural site which is contained in the UNESCO World Heritage List (WHL); in particular, it focuses on the case of the “Baroque cities in Val di Noto” (Sicily, Italy), which is a serial site, constituted by a large number of towns that share the same architectural style and are located in a large area that includes eight municipalities. We discuss whether the model of the “cultural district” is appropriate enough to describe the experience of Val di Noto. More specifically, we analyze the impact of the inscription to the WHL on creative industries and tourism flows. We observe that the most relevant effects occurred in the years around the inscription (2002) and suggest that the difficulties in maintaining sustained economic growth in more recent years rest in the limited enforcement power of the UNESCO resolutions and in the limited coordination among different layers of government.