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UNESCO
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UNESCO
What sites from your State are currently on the Tentative List? (Please highlight any particular hurdles in preparation of the dossier, such as litigation / encroachment / technical or financial capacity constraints) Arikamedu Silk Road Site
(Nominated by ASI)- Approximately 4kms south of Pondicherry
- Early Roman trade centre
- A rare site in India with cultural continuity from 300 BC to 1800AD
- Capital of the Mauryan Empire 2nd & 3rd Centuries BC
Presently an archaeological site, where Mortimer Wheeler accomplished his renowned excavation during the 1940s
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UNESCO
Can your State identify more properties under:
c) Historic Towns or Vernacular Settlements that are outstanding examples of a particular phase in history/culture?
Category: Groups of buildings - "groups of separate or connected buildings, which because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science." -
UNESCO
Can your State identify more properties under:
c) Historic Towns or Vernacular Settlements that are Outstanding examples of a particular phase in history/culture?
- While maintaining their individual identities, the two styles have influenced one another, evolving into a synthesis: Franco-Tamil architecture.
- Pondicherry does not have a large number of monumental buildings but is noteworthy for its local architecture. The architectural character is a result of hundreds of French and Tamil houses that create the �milieu� or �ensemble�.
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UNESCO
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UNESCO
- A settlement testimony to a 500 year old relationship (1521-1954) with four great European powers; Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British.
- Pondicherry remained a seat of great commercial, strategic, and political importance, where cultural traditions from many parts of Europe have fused to create a coherent and vigorous continuing community.
- This interaction is illustrated in Pondicherry�s planned form, the Indo-French architecture in the style of the Dutch town, and the intimate Tamil, and Franco-Tamil streetscapes.
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UNESCO
Outstanding Universal Value
This is reflected in the different religious buildings � Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, and Christian churches set amidst the structures in the European classical style comparable to the Parisian villas of the �h�tel particulier� and the Tamil vernacular style.
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UNESCO
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
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UNESCO
Outstanding Universal Value
- Orthogonal pattern of streets point to its root in the master plan made by the Dutch for the development of Pondicherry during their occupation in 1694.
- In the French Precinct, the buildings are of two main categories � Public and Residential
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UNESCO
Outstanding Universal Value
- Tamil streets are mainly characterized by �thalvarams� (street verandas with platform and lean-to-over wooden posts) � a social extension of the house � and �thinnais� (semi-public veranda spaces with masonry benches for visitors).
- These talking streets, so called because of their intimate scale and interactive nature, are typical of the vernacular Tamil architecture illustrating use of connecting elements like lean-to-roofs, cornices, pilasters, columns and ornamental parapets.
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UNESCO
GOVERNMENT SQUARE
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UNESCO
INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS
The various institutional buildings in Pondicherry are well preserved.
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UNESCO
INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS
These structures are some of the best preserved examples of the Boulevard Town�s architectural heritage
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UNESCO
FRANCO-TAMIL BUILDINGS
Exterior and Interior of a Franco-Tamil Building
12, Chetty St (Societe Progressisste School)
Facades of some Franco-Tamil Buildings
87, Mission St;
61, Laporte St;
383, MG Road
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UNESCO
Authenticity and Integrity
- Many of the original same streets and building plots are still in existence today
- The town�s urban form reflects some of the first and longest lasting encounters between Europe and India
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UNESCO
Authenticity and Integrity
The Boulevard Town�s authenticity and integrity is in its entirety � urban form, architecture, and culture � a town not of monuments but a �milieu� and the �ensemble� of significant buildings.
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UNESCO
Beach Promenade (Before- 1870s)
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UNESCO
Beach Promenade- Today
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UNESCO
FRENCH PRECINCT STREETSCAPES
The street facades in the French quarter are characterised by continuous wall-to-wall construction with high garden walls and elaborate gateways.
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UNESCO
FRENCH PRECINCT STREETSCAPES
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UNESCO
FRENCH PRECINCT STREETSCAPES
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UNESCO
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UNESCO
TAMIL STREETSCAPES
The streets in the Tamil quarter are characterised by features like �thinnai� and �thalvaram�. They are called �talking streets� due to their intimate scale and interactive nature.
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UNESCO
TAMIL STREETSCAPES
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UNESCO
CHANGING STREETSCAPES
Many of the traditional buildings are being replaced by new constructions, which are not in harmony with the existing townscape.
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UNESCO
LOSS OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS
Heritage Building StockPrecinct 1995 2011 2012 French 300 270 265 Tamil 1507 719 683 TOTAL 1507 989 948 -
UNESCO
FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTEGRITY OF THE BOULEVARD TOWN
- Development pressures
- High land value
- Property divisions
- Changing lifestyles
- Lack of maintenance
- Lack of heritage appreciation
- Urban Problems
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UNESCO
Level of Protection of the Site
- State Level Heritage Advisory Committee formed
- Existing Heritage- friendly building bye-laws
- Updated Listing of Heritage Buildings (in progress)
- Development Permission Scrutiny for listed buildings - Puducherry Planning Authority and INTACH
- Detailed Development Plan for the Boulevard Town underway
- Heritage Walks, Public Awareness
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UNESCO
BHARATHI PARK REVAITALISATION
Bharathi Park was renovated by the Tourism Department with financial assistance from the Ministry of Tourism, GOI in January 2006
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UNESCO
BHARATHI PARK REVAITALISATION
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UNESCO
RESTORATION PROJECTS
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UNESCO
RESTORATION PROJECTS
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UNESCO
Asia pacific award from UNESCO for restoration
Hotel de l�Orient
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UNESCO
ASIA URBS PROGRAMME-
Achieving Economic and Environmental Goals through Heritage Preservation Initiatives
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UNESCO
Achieving Economic and Environmental Goals through Heritage Preservation Initiatives
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UNESCO
Model street restoration
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UNESCO
Are all owners/ stakeholders of site and surroundings conserving and managing it well?
Ownership (French Precinct):
- Government of Puducherry
- French Consulate
- Sri Aurobindo Ashram
- Private Owners
- Government of Puducherry
- Department of Tourism
- Puducherry Planning Authority
- TCPO
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