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

Alessandra Mascitelli (), Fernanda Prestileo, Alberico Sonnessa, Stefano Federico, Rosa Claudia Torcasio, Roberta Ravanelli, Riccardo Biondi and Stefano Dietrich
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Alessandra Mascitelli: Department of Advanced Technologies in Medicine & Dentistry (DTM&O), Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Fernanda Prestileo: CNR-ISAC, National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
Alberico Sonnessa: Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Construction and Chemistry (DICATECh), Polytechnic University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Stefano Federico: CNR-ISAC, National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
Rosa Claudia Torcasio: CNR-ISAC, National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
Roberta Ravanelli: Geodesy and Geomatics Division, Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Riccardo Biondi: CIMA Research Foundation, 17100 Savona, Italy
Stefano Dietrich: CNR-ISAC, National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-17

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 a resource for natural hazard mitigation.

Keywords: meteorology; thunderstorms; flooding; cultural heritage; UNESCO site; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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