FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 9, 2013
Media Contact: Amy Atticks, 434-984-7529
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Monticello is lowering general admission prices to $5 for two days this month, December 14-15, 2013, in celebration of the 26th anniversary of its inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. Five dollars was the price for a ticket to Monticello in 1987, the year Monticello and the University of Virginia, along with the Great Wall of China and the Acropolis in Athens, were first recognized as ‘World Heritage Sites.’ The special $5 commemorative price applies to general admission day passes to Monticello, which includes a guided tour of the house and access to the grounds, the introductory film, exhibitions, and The Shop at Monticello.
The World Heritage Committee selects sites to inscribe to the World Heritage List based on specific criteria. The UNESCO Criteria for Selection states that each site must be “of outstanding universal value” and meet one of the ten selection criteria. Monticello is the only U.S. presidential and private home on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The designation’s “Statement of Significance” details Thomas Jefferson’s architectural ingenuity and use of neo-classical elements in creating both Monticello and the University of Virginia. The committee also noted how Jefferson’s architecture symbolizes the ideals of the Enlightenment and the awareness of Monticello’s natural surroundings in its construction.
Thomas Jefferson, third president, philosopher, scientist, and author of the Declaration of Independence, helped establish the foundations of self-government and individual freedom we know today. A self-taught architect, Jefferson referred to Monticello as his “essay in architecture.”
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Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today the Foundation seeks to engage a global audience in a dialogue with Jefferson’s ideas. Monticello is now recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a United Nations World Heritage Site. As a private, nonprofit organization, the Foundation is not supported by federal or state budgets to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. About 450,000 people visit Monticello each year.