Geoheritage Management in Areas with Multicultural Interest Contexts

Sites of geo-cultural interest are often included in areas where multicultural contexts (geo and non geo) are present. Cultural heritage dissemination is sometimes mono-contextual, paying little attention to the possibility of inclusion in a wider multicultural context. When these different contexts are linkable to each other following a specific theme, multicultural heritage dissemination will be possible, and often the geo context can represent a fulcrum, a resilient tool in doing that. A portion of the Sinni river’s catchment area (Basilicata region, Southern Italy) has been chosen to test and verify the multi-level/disciplinary approach applicability. The area is located on the southeastern edge of the Pliocene to Pleistocene Sant’Arcangelo basin in the Southern Apennines chain of Italy. Here, both basic observations on the physical geography landscape evolution and specialized observations on river dynamics and on the hydrographic network have been carried out. Educational routes will be proposed with different educational levels along a path that will include the San Giorgio Lucano hypogea. This paper represents the results of a qualitative study providing an overview of the possibility, in a multicultural context, about whether, when, and how the geo context may act as a link between the different disciplines and what is the best way to make it. A relational database, organized in contexts, areas, and themes, is planned at different levels of detail, and is currently being developed in order to make final products easily available. Each level will be provided with basic concepts, territorial contextualization, and of activities/itineraries. The goal is to provide a versatile tool that enhances the territorial multi-cultural heritage to reach a greater number of end users interested in both geo and non geo contexts

Geoheritage Management in Areas with Multicultural Interest Contexts

Sites of geo-cultural interest are often included in areas where multicultural contexts (geo and non geo) are present. Cultural heritage dissemination is sometimes mono-contextual, paying little attention to the possibility of inclusion in a wider multicultural context. When these different contexts are linkable to each other following a specific theme, multicultural heritage dissemination will be possible, and often the geo context can represent a fulcrum, a resilient tool in doing that. A portion of the Sinni river’s catchment area (Basilicata region, Southern Italy) has been chosen to test and verify the multi-level/disciplinary approach applicability. The area is located on the southeastern edge of the Pliocene to Pleistocene Sant’Arcangelo basin in the Southern Apennines chain of Italy. Here, both basic observations on the physical geography landscape evolution and specialized observations on river dynamics and on the hydrographic network have been carried out. Educational routes will be proposed with different educational levels along a path that will include the San Giorgio Lucano hypogea. This paper represents the results of a qualitative study providing an overview of the possibility, in a multicultural context, about whether, when, and how the geo context may act as a link between the different disciplines and what is the best way to make it. A relational database, organized in contexts, areas, and themes, is planned at different levels of detail, and is currently being developed in order to make final products easily available. Each level will be provided with basic concepts, territorial contextualization, and of activities/itineraries. The goal is to provide a versatile tool that enhances the territorial multi-cultural heritage to reach a greater number of end users interested in both geo and non geo contexts

Morphometry and Debris-Flow Susceptibility Map in Mountain Drainage Basins of the Vallo di Diano, Southern Italy

In watershed mountain basins, affected in the last decades by strong rainfall events, the role of debris-flow and debris flood processes was investigated. Morphometric parameters have proven to be useful first-approximation indicators in discriminating those processes, especially in large areas of investigation. Computation of morphometric parameters in 19 watershed mountain basins of the western side valley of the Vallo di Diano intermontane basin (southern Italy) was carried out. This procedure was integrated by a semi-automatic elaboration of the potential susceptibility to debris flows, using Flow-R modelling. This software, providing an empirical model of the preliminary susceptibility assessment at a regional scale, was applied in many countries of the world. The implementation of Flow-R modelling requires a GIS application and some thematic base maps extracted using DEMs analysis. A 5-meter-resolution DEM has been used in order to produce the susceptibility maps of the whole study area, and the results are compared and discussed with the real debris flow/flood events that occurred in 1993, 2005, 2010, and 2017 in the studied area. The results have provided a good reliability of Flow-R modelling within small catchment mountain basins

Geoheritage and Geoconservation: Some Remarks and Considerations

Topics related to geoheritage research, protection, and conservation, as well as the enhancement and dissemination of geoheritage knowledge, have experienced an important increase in interest regarding the perspectives of both research and management policies. In geoheritage and geodiversity management, geoconservation is a term that encompasses a series of actions dedicated to conservation, research on and the protection of geoheritage, and the enhancement as well as dissemination of knowledge in this area. Geoconservation is a kind of container, with several compartments dedicated to different aspects that identify geoheritage and geodiversity, including scientific, technical, administrative, didactical, and political aspects. These aspects are necessarily different according to (i) objects directly or indirectly involved in geoconservation actions; (ii) the area of application (protected and unprotected natural areas; emerged, submerged, or mixed areas; and urban, urbanized, and/or anthropized areas); (iii) final goals; and (iv) the final end users. This paper presents a schematization of geoconservation concepts and applications as expressed in the literature and as a result of personal experience in addressing issues related to geoheritage management

Geomorphic evidence of Quaternary tectonics within an underlap fault zone of southern Apennines, Italy

A composite seismic source, the Irpinia - Agri Valley Fault zone, located in the axial sector of the fold-and-thrust belt of southern Apennines, Italy, is investigated. This composite source is made up of a series of nearly parallel, NW-striking normal fault segments which caused many historical earthquakes. Two of these fault segments, known as the San Gregorio Magno and Pergola-Melandro, and the fault-related mountain fronts, form a wedge-shaped, right-stepping, underlap fault zone. This work is aimed at documenting tectonic geomorphology and geology of this underlap fault zone. The goal is to decipher the evidence of surface topographic interaction between two bounding fault segments and their related mountain fronts. In particular, computation of geomorphic indices such as mountain front sinuosity (Smf), water divide sinuosity (Swd), asymmetry factor (AF), drainage basin elongation (Bs), relief ratio (Rh), Hypsometry (HI), normalized steepness (Ksn), and concavity (θ) is integrated with geomorphological analysis, the geological mapping, and structural analysis in order to assess the recent activity of the fault scarp sets recognized within the underlap zone. Results are consistent with the NW-striking faults as those showing the most recent tectonic activity, as also suggested by presence of related slope deposits younger than ~ 38 ka. The results of this work therefore show how the integration of a multidisciplinary approach that combines geomorphology, morphometry, and structural analyses may be key to solving tectonic geomorphology issues in a complex, fold-and-thrust belt configuration

Geomorphosites: Versatile tools in Geoheritage Cultural Dissemination

In the last decades, renewed interest on sites of geological interest, both in the nature conservation and tourism sectors, has been registered, as well as an interest in educational activities based on Earth Science topics. The geological knowledge is fundamental also in understanding the assessment and mitigation of natural risk. Multicultural trails, natural resources valorization, and educational activities based on concepts of Earth Science are increasingly approached, requested, and offered. Rich literature and data related to the geoheritage study, promotion, exploitation, and conservation are available, as well as guidelines for inventorying and managing it. In this work, a proposal on multicultural and multilevel management of geomorphosites is presented. The Vallo di Diano intermontane basin (Campania, Italy), the Val d’Agri intermontane basin, and the ghost town of Campomaggiore Vecchio (Basilicata, Italy) are here presented as case studies. The proposal envisages the creation of an incremental and updatable database; it is shown as mainly referred to educational target, but it can be exported to touristic and/or territorial management targets

Geo- and Archaeo-heritage in the Mount Vulture Area: List, Data Management, Communication, and Dissemination. A Preliminary note

Knowledge and management of areas with various cultural and natural assets represent both a challenge and an opportunity: a challenge, since it is not so trivial to analyse and to correlate different assets in the same geographic area, and an opportunity, since it represents a chance for scientific cooperation, communication, and dissemination of activities in territorial and cultural enhancement and for approaching themes and topics that are often socially a bit known, or unknown. At the same time, this will lead to having more awareness of peculiarities present in one's territory and consequently to operate in such a way for geoconservation. The Area of Multidisciplinary Interest (AMI) can offer copious literature on its cultural heritage, even if it is often referred to as specific and/or expert end users. A multidisciplinary approach to the cultural and environmental heritage and to its communication/dissemination is required to avoid dispersal of knowledge. The Mount Vulture area, in southern Italy, has been chosen as an example of testing the possibility to work out, on the trail of previous similar studies, multicultural subjects to enhance the cultural heritage of territory, for use by both geo and non-geo end users. The Vulture is a strato-volcano whose activity was developed in Middle Pleistocene times, and thus, its genesis and evolution are therefore linked to the recent deformation activity affecting the south-Apennine chain. Some Vulture areas have represented the ideal habitat for life, hunting, and gathering activities in prehistoric times. Many sites of interest have provided palaeontological and archaeological materials allowing a deeper knowledge of the environmental context of the human presence during Palaeolithic and Mesolithic times. Topics as human, environment, and landscape evolutions are here proposed and designed for students with a different educational degree

Geo- and Archaeo-heritage in the Mount Vulture Area: List, Data Management, Communication, and Dissemination. A Preliminary note

Knowledge and management of areas with various cultural and natural assets represent both a challenge and an opportunity: a challenge, since it is not so trivial to analyse and to correlate diferent assets in the same geographic area, and an opportunity, since it represents a chance for scientifc cooperation, communication, and dissemination of activities in territorial and cultural enhancement and for approaching themes and topics that are often socially a bit known, or unknown. At the same time, this will lead to having more awareness of peculiarities present in one’s territory and consequently to operate in such a way for geoconservation. The Area of Multidisciplinary Interest (AMI) can ofer copious literature on its cultural heritage, even if it is often referred to as specifc and/or expert end users. A multidisciplinary approach to the cultural and environmental heritage and to its communication/dissemination is required to avoid dispersal of knowledge. The Mount Vulture area, in southern Italy, has been chosen as an example of testing the possibility to work out, on the trail of previous similar studies, multicultural subjects to enhance the cultural heritage of territory, for use by both geo and non-geo end users. The Vulture is a strato-volcano whose activity was developed in Middle Pleistocene times, and thus, its genesis and evolution are therefore linked to the recent deformation activity afecting the south-Apennine chain. Some Vulture areas have represented the ideal habitat for life, hunting, and gathering activities in prehistoric times. Many sites of interest have provided palaeontological and archaeological materials allowing a deeper knowledge of the environmental context of the human presence during Palaeolithic and Mesolithic times. Topics as human, environment, and landscape evolutions are here proposed and designed for students with a diferent educational degree

Geoheritage and Geoconservation, from Theory to Practice: The Ghost Town of Craco (Matera District, Basilicata Region, Southern Italy)

Several theoretical and applied studies are concerned with the topics of geological heritage management and geoconservation. The diversity of natural and anthropic scenarios into which geological heritage is inserted, as well as its troublesome management, make these topics challenging for scientific discussion. However, on the other hand, these topics highlight the complexity of a theoretical schematization of approaches and procedures, as well as of the practical application of theoretical assumptions. This paper concerns a practical application of a case study in geoconservation actions, which begins with the identification and the basic description of a site of multicultural interest (characterized by the coexistence of geo and non-geo aspects); subsequently, the needs and aims of the potential end users and stakeholders are analyzed. Finally, several geoconservation actions, differentiated according to end user and stakeholder goals, are proposed. The chosen area includes the Craco ghost town in southern Italy. It is a characteristic, evocative place, where it is possible to observe natural and anthropic contexts. The Craco ghost town is also nationally and internationally renowned, since some movie productions have been set there (such as some scenes in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ movie). In this area, the abBandono vErsus riGenerazIoNe (BEGIN) Project (ROP ERDF Basilicata 2014–2020 interregional and transnational cooperation projects) aims to develop an operative, unequivocal, and multi-layered procedure focused on sustainable management, disseminating knowledge and enhancing and using the cultural context of abandoned sites as an attractive force for tourist purposes