NEW YORK (AP) – A labor camp in Albania, a burial site in Chile and a Spanish mission in New Mexico are among a list of cultural heritage sites threatened by neglect, overdevelopment or social, political and economic change, a preservation group announced Thursday.
The World Monuments Fund’s biennial list cited 50 sites from ancient times to modern times in 36 countries.
The New York-based preservation group began issuing its World Monuments Watch list in 1996 to call attention to important landmarks threatened around the world in an effort to promote awareness and action.
The organization listed the notorious Spac Prison in Albania for its advanced state of deterioration – a site the group said deserved to be saved as a modern place of remembrance.
The General Cemetery of Santiago, a burial site of presidents and other luminaries, was singled out because of the deterioration it has suffered from numerous earthquakes and consequent neglect.