Macedonian Cultural Heritage:
4 new publications presented
Macedonian Minister of Culture officially presented 4 photographic books on national cultural heritage, realised with the support of UNESCO Venice Office and Cooperazione Italiana as operational follow-up to annual ministerial conferences on cultural heritage in SEE.
On 12 November 2009 the Macedonian Minister of Culture, Ms. Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska, opened the official ceremony for the presentation of 4 publications on the safeguarding and promotion of Macedonian Cultural Heritage. The event, held at Daut Pasha Hamam, also saw the participation of Mr. Pasko Kusman, Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office in Skopje, and of the Director of UNESCO Venice Office.
The 4 publications are an output of the sub-regional project managed by the Culture Unit of UNESCO Venice Office and financed by the Italian Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Cooperazione Italiana), as operational follow-up to the annual ministerial conferences on cultural heritage in SEE. In particular, the publications are intended to present the Macedonian Cultural Heritage in all its richness and diversity, and to promote it as a means for dialogue and sustainable development.
The 4 books are focussed on the following topics: Archaeological Sites, Christian Monuments, Ottoman Culture Monuments and Ohrid Cultural Heritage. A total of 800 Macedonian and 1,200 English copies have been published.
"These publications, issued for the first time in such type and volume, represent an invaluable testimony of the continuity and diversity of the country’s material and spiritual culture. This project is a true challenge for all those who want to get information about the country-cradle of European civilization, with 5,160 archaeological sites, 1,156 churches and monasteries, 879 buildings of old town architecture, 112 mosques and many others", said Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska during the presentation.
Authors of the volumes are distinguished archaeologists, art historians, and photographers, under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture.