Croatia - Historical-town planning ensemble of Ston with Mali Ston, connecting walls, the Mali Ston Bay nature reserve, Stonsko Polje and the salt pans

The historical-town planning ensemble of Ston regarded as integrated cultural heritage (cultural property and cultural landscape) comprises Ston and Mali Ston, the connecting walls, the nature reserve of Mali Ston Bay, Stonsko Polje and the salt pans. The area of this cultural property includes urban ensembles developed in accordance with the configuration of the ground and the preserved parts of the outstanding natural environment. Its development and structuring reflects the successive historical stages, and provides a clear overview of its historical, strategic and economic role notwithstanding modern interference in the environment. The area of Ston at the beginning of the peninsula of Pelješac with its fertile fields and large protected bays favoured settlement. Thus, material finds unearthed by partial archaeological excavations bear witness to the variety of cultural layers with traces of human living since prehistory through antiquity, the Middle Ages to the present day.