SIBENIK CATHEDRAL PROPOSED TO BE INCLUDED IN WORLD HERITAGE LIST

SIBENIK, May 16 (Hina) - Mayor of Croatian southern town of Sibenik, Franko Ceko, handed over to the head of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mounir Bouchenaki, a proposal for including the Sibenik Cathedral of St. Jacob in the UNESCO's list of world heritage. The cathedral had been registered for the list back in the 70's, but intense activities on completing the necessary documentation started only last year. The project, conducted by the Culture Ministry, was implemented by the Office for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and the Sibenik Restoration Department, with expert help from Radovan Ivancevic. A documentary is being made about the St. Jacob Cathedral and the old downtown Sibenik. After receiving the documentation, Bouchenaki, accompanied by Croatia's Ambassador to the UNESCO, Vesna Girardi-Jurkic and a secretary at Croatia's Foreign Ministry, Marko Zaja, toured the Cathedral and went sightseeing in this Adriatic town. The construction of the cathedral lasted more than one hundred years, from 1431 to 1535, in three stages and three different styles. Construction works were supervised by three different architects. This can be seen on the cathedral's exterior and interior, but as a whole, the building is exceptionally harmonious and unique. The cathedral matches with the architectural form of church fronts of western Christianity and this is why the history of Renaissance sacral architecture in Europe cannot be imagined without the Sibenik cathedral. (hina) ms