Blue Shield for Culture

The Blue Shield for Culture Project was launched in 2023, the year Brescia and Bergamo were named Italian Capitals of Culture, and has since been implemented in other cities that have received this designation.

The project’s main initiative is the display of the Blue Shield, the international symbol for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, based on the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1954 (Articles 1, 16, and 17.2).

Pordenone, the Italian Capital of Culture for 2027, has enthusiastically embraced this opportunity.

On 8 May 2026 our Committee presented the Blue Shield to the Municipality of Pordenone for the Multimedia Civic Library, making Pordenone the first city in Friuli Venezia Giulia to have a site included in the Blue Shield for Culture project.

The text on the plaque reads as follows:

The Blue Shield was affixed to the Pordenone Municipal Multimedia Library pursuant to Municipal Council Resolution No. 368 of 20 November 2025.

Since 2010, the Multimedia Public Library has been housed in the former Dominican convent, which was founded in the late 17th century.

In 1771 the convent became the residence of the Augustinian nuns. From 1808 onwards, it underwent various changes of use until it acquired its current cultural purpose.

The Italian Red Cross’s national campaign for the Blue Shield

“A Shield for Culture” forms part of and expands upon the Campaign for the Protection of Cultural Heritage launched by the Italian Red Cross and ANCI (National Association of Italian Municipalities) in Solferino on 2 April 2022, with the aim of raising awareness among the public and institutions through the dissemination of International Humanitarian Law, accompanied by a wide-ranging awareness-raising campaign.

The Italian Red Cross (CRI) and ANCI signed an agreement setting out the procedures for mapping and affixing the Blue Shield to eligible cultural heritage sites, a process carried out by suitably trained CRI volunteers in collaboration with local authorities and relevant organisations.

The aim is to enable Italy to be better prepared to fulfil its responsibilities, both in peacetime and in the event of armed conflicts, natural disasters, and environmental catastrophes.