The study of natural disasters has become increasingly important in recent years as the frequency and impact of such events on society have risen. Italy, which has the largest number of sites on the World Heritage List, offers many examples of interactions between atmospheric phenomena and cultural heritage. The research presented here aimed to investigate the potential of one of these sites, Alberobello in the Apulia region, to respond to the stresses induced by intense weather phenomena that occurred in August 2022. Data from conventional and nonconventional sensors were employed to characterize the event. During previous studies, regions prone to meteorological risk were identified based on long-term model analyses. According to these studies, the marked area resulted in a region sensitive to convective precipitation and thus represents an interesting case study. The weather event investigated caused flooding and damage in the Alberobello surroundings; however, the UNESCO site showed a positive response. We explored the reasons by consulting the literature to outline the site's peculiarities, especially its architectural features, building materials,and terrain morphology. The results revealed that the mutual relationship between the buildings and the environment and the dual role of cultural heritage are values that need to be protected as aresource for natural hazard mitigation.

Cultural Heritage Resilience in the Face of Extreme Weather: Lessons from the UNESCO Site of Alberobello

Alessandra Mascitelli;Fernanda Prestileo;Stefano Federico;Rosa Claudia Torcasio;Stefano Dietrich
2023

Abstract

The study of natural disasters has become increasingly important in recent years as the frequency and impact of such events on society have risen. Italy, which has the largest number of sites on the World Heritage List, offers many examples of interactions between atmospheric phenomena and cultural heritage. The research presented here aimed to investigate the potential of one of these sites, Alberobello in the Apulia region, to respond to the stresses induced by intense weather phenomena that occurred in August 2022. Data from conventional and nonconventional sensors were employed to characterize the event. During previous studies, regions prone to meteorological risk were identified based on long-term model analyses. According to these studies, the marked area resulted in a region sensitive to convective precipitation and thus represents an interesting case study. The weather event investigated caused flooding and damage in the Alberobello surroundings; however, the UNESCO site showed a positive response. We explored the reasons by consulting the literature to outline the site's peculiarities, especially its architectural features, building materials,and terrain morphology. The results revealed that the mutual relationship between the buildings and the environment and the dual role of cultural heritage are values that need to be protected as aresource for natural hazard mitigation.
2023
Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima - ISAC
meteorology
thunderstorms
flooding
cultural heritage
UNESCO site
resilience
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14243/436564
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