ICOMOS doctrinal text “Principles concerning Rural Landscapes as heritage” 2017 gives orientations for knowledge, description and interpretations of rural landscapes as tangible and intangible heritage, essential for the definition of any strategy and action (Principles 2017). Actually, studies that emphasize the heritage dimension of rural landscape have a rich and consolidated literature by many disciplines. But there are still few tools to inventory, describe, classify, compare and mapping them as heritage finalized to protection, ‘appropriate’ management and enhancement: too often description is reduced to tell history and geographical characteristics, to mapping the use of the land and to identifying the main built elements (Fairclough, 2010). A general application of criteria, methods and processes are necessary for World Heritage identification and management regimes (Tricaud, 2013), as well as for regional and local policies and needs common methodological approaches. ICOMOS-IFLA Working Group on Rural Landscapes is working on a “World Rural Landscape Atlas” aimed at providing a clear and shared framework at world level. The (draft) structure of the Atlas has two levels (Laviscio 2018): the first general classification of types is coherent with the definition of rural landscapes in the Principles 2017; it is articulated in a second level based on the criterium of “rural morphology” (Tricaud 2013; Scazzosi 2018). A Description Form is finalized to define and describe the rural landscape units as “rural landscape systems” following a «holistic» approach that starts from the axiom that ‘the whole is more than the sum of its parts’ (Antrop, 2000; Scazzosi 2018). The Atlas concerns both outstanding and ordinary landscapes, as Principles Text 2017 assumes. A draft structure of the Atlas is in www.worldrurallandscapes.org. A specific Bibliography on rural landscapes is ongoing. A common language at world level structuring a Glossary is a necessary output.