The archaeological area of Ercolano has been included, since 1997, together with the Pompeii Excavations and the villas of Oplontis, in the list of world heritage sites drawn up by UNESCO.

Ercolano, therefore, is a component of the UNESCO site of a serial type called "Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata"consisting of monuments and archaeological areas owned by the Italian State and managed directly by the Ministry of Culture through a peripheral organ (UNESCO Site 829 Office, near Pompeii).