The UNESCO World Heritage List recognizes properties of Outstanding Universal Value that should be protected and passed on to future generations. The Holy See is represented by two cultural sites, one of which is shared with Italy.
- Vatican City — 1984. The site encompasses the entire territory of the State and preserves an extraordinary collection of testimonies to the history of Christianity and masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art: from St Peter’s Basilica and its square to the Vatican Palaces, the Sistine Chapel and the gardens.
- Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura — 1980, extended in 1990. Shared with Italy, the site bears witness to the encounter between Roman civilization and the Christian tradition. The historic centre, inscribed in 1980, was extended in 1990 to include the Holy See’s extraterritorial properties and the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, bringing together ancient monuments, basilicas and works of Renaissance and Baroque art.