UNESCO REBUFFS HERITAGE CLAIM

STAFF REPORTER HARO (La Rioja) CONTRARY to regional aspirations, Majorca's Tramuntana mountain range has not been chosen this year as a Spanish candidate for Unesco's 2009 shortlist for a World Heritage Site award. However, they could be selected next year (for 2010) as the application had reportedly been “highly valued.” The central government Ministry for Culture reported from Haro in the region of La Rioja yesterday that the archaeological site of Siega Verde in Salamanca has been chosen instead for a cultural (as opposed to a natural) heritage award, partly because it has been on a “waiting list” since 2005. The ancient cave paintings at Siega Verde were presented for candidature as an extension of the prehistoric sites in the Coa valley in Portugal which itself was declared a World Heritage Site in 1998.