The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris  was hit by a terrible fire on April 15, 2019.

Audrey Azoulay. UNESCO General Director, stated a “Deep emotion in the face of this dramatic fire at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, inscribed as World Heritage in 1991. UNESCO is closely monitoring the situation and is standing by France’s side to safeguard and restore this invaluable heritage.”

Francesca Merloni, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Creative Cities, came back from Paris, after some meetings for the preparation of the UNESCO Creative Cities Conference, June 10-15 in Fabriano: Francesca Merloni stated her grief for the fire that devastated Notre Dame: “Restoration is not the issue, the issue is what is lost forever and will never come back to us. What is rebuilt has another history, another name, another identity. But there’s something that is forever lost, that fire has melted, has shaped in stones and smoke, words coming from afar and that we will never listen again”.