18.1% of culture sites risk landslides in Italy

FLORENCE, ITALY – Nearly 20% of Italy’s artistic heritage is at risk for being damaged by landslides, according to a report released Wednesday by the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

The cities with the highest number of at-risk sites are Venice, Ferrara, Florence, Ravenna and Pisa, ISPRA said.

The report said a total of 34,651 monuments and sites of architectural and archaeological heritage were potentially exposed, comprising 18.1% of Italy’s total artistic heritage, with more than 10,000 of these in areas of high or very high danger.

As a part of the Mission Structure #Italia Sicura with the aim to present the activities carried out by the Institute in this context, the ISPRA presented the Report on the Hydrogeological instability in Italy: hazard and risk indicators.

The Report, elaborated in 2015, provide a comprehensive and updated knowledge on the landslide hazard, hydraulic and coastal erosion of the entire national territory.

The report also contains indicators of risk for landslides and flood, relative to population, enterprises, fundamental elements for the planning of structural and non-structural measures of risk mitigation and cohesion policies in the country.