Bologna's famed porticoes or Portici arcades have been awarded World Heritage Status by the United Nations culture organisation UNESCO. The city's colonnades, which dominate the capital of Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, have been added to the prestigious international list, UNESCO announced on Wednesday morning.

It is the third such accolade awarded to Italy by UNESCO from its 44th World Heritage Committee meeting currently underway in Fuzhou, China. At the weekend the coveted status was given to the 14th-century fresco cycles in the northern city of Padua, with Montecatini Terme in Tuscany being added to the transnational 'Great Spa Towns of Europe.'