Selection Criteria

The World Heritage Committee has inscribed 31 properties of Spain on the World Heritage List. To be included on this list, sites must satisfy the selection criteria, which are explained in the "Operational Guidelines", the World Heritage Committee's main document. Revised regularly by the Committee, the criteria have evolved to match the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.

The Natural and Cultural criteria evolution between 1978 and 1997 has been considerably. Therefore, the criteria of many of these sites are different, depending on the date they were inscribed on the list.

Nevertheless, all of them have in common that all the efforts are designed to make sure that future generations can inherit the treasures of the past.