Descrizione 1
Elisa Brustia, Gabriele Leoni, Daniele Spizzichino
The cultural heritage sites located within the high-hazard zone estimated by ISPRA amount to 4,948, representing 2% of the total, while those within the moderate-hazard buffer total 7,601, accounting for 3.3% of Italy’s cultural heritage (229,530 sites).
This indicator provides information on cultural heritage sites exposed to volcanic hazards across the national territory. The assessment was carried out using input data from the VIR (Vincoli in Rete) database, managed by ISCR (Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro), which includes architectural, monumental, and archaeological assets. It also incorporates the map of active volcanoes and hazard buffers created by ISPRA based on available cartography.
The two buffers—high volcanic hazard (lava flows, pyroclastic flows, falls, and ash) and moderate volcanic hazard (falls and ash)—were generated using a precautionary interpolation of hazard maps (where available) produced by the relevant authorities, such as the Vesuvian Observatory, INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia), Civil Protection, universities, and research institutes.
To provide a national-scale estimate of the distribution of cultural heritage sites exposed to volcanic hazards.
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Descrizione 2
http://vincoliinrete.beniculturali.it/VincoliInRete/vir http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/jcms/it/vulcani_attivi.wp http://srv1.rm.ingv.it/srv1/srv
The primary limitations of this indicator stem from the current definition of areas with different levels of volcanic hazard.
Actions planned in the future to increase the quality and detail of this indicator will be aimed primarily at improving volcanic hazard zoning (analysis for better spatial and typological characterization of areas prone to flows and/or fallout products).
Qualificazione dati
Basic information about Italy's cultural heritage can be found and accessed at: http://vincoliinrete.beniculturali.it/VincoliInRete/vir/utente/login https://www.ingv.it/
National
2024
Qualificazione indicatore
Buffering, intersection, and spatial analysis in a GIS environment using various databases.
Cultural heritage sites within the high-hazard buffer amount to 4,948, or 2% of the total (229,530), while those in the moderate-hazard buffer total 7,601, or 3.3% of the total (Table 1). Due to the lack of objective reference parameters, the status evaluation is not definable.
No changes have been made to the extent of volcanic hazard buffers, making it impossible to estimate a variation in the indicator. The slight variation in the total number of exposed cultural heritage sites compared to the previous assessment is due to corrections in the database, both qualitative (geolocation) and quantitative (integration of additional sites). The trend of the indicator is not definable.
Dati
Table 1: Cultural properties exposed to volcanic hazard (2024)
ISPRA processing of ISPRA, ISCR, INGV data
High hazard = flows, pyroclastic flows and proximal fallout products. Moderate hazard = distal fallout products
Table 2: Italian municipalities classified as high volcanic hazard, with the highest number of cultural properties (2024)
ISPRA processing of ISPRA, ISCR, INGV data
High hazard = flows, pyroclastic flows and proximal fallout products
Figure 1: Cultural assets at volcanic risk (2024)
ISPRA processing of ISPRA and ISCR data.
Among the cultural heritage sites exposed to high volcanic hazard (Figure 1), noteworthy examples include the historic center of Naples and the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the Campania region. In Sicily, high-hazard areas include Etna Park, the Aeolian Islands with their unique ecosystems, and the historic center of Acireale. In the moderate-hazard zone, the historic centers of Catania and Taormina, along with the archaeological area of Giardini-Naxos, are included. In Campania, Naples has the highest number of cultural heritage sites exposed to volcanic hazards, with 2,624 sites, while in Sicily, Acireale has 148 sites (Table 2).