SMALL LAKES AND RESERVOIRS IN THE HILLS OF SICILY. MAINTAIN, SAVE AND RECOVER RURAL LANDSCAPE

In the transition from nomadic to sedentary, people have tried - for their settlements - the most plenty of water, and the first cities were founded, in fact, along Tigris and Euphrates rivers, extraordinary water resources in a particular dry climate.In the most interior of Sicily, which has always been characterized by low rainfall, the farmers - over time - have tried various expedients for the preservation of rain water in order to allow its survival and crop.The use of new technologies and materials has resulted in recently hard impacts for landscape, while construction of small dams filled with earth, using natural soil impluviums and the nature of the land, made it possible to irrigate thousands of hectares of agricultural land otherwise ready for drought. A “sustainable” technique, which resulted in the last sixty years, a significant change in the rural landscape of Sicily. In a time when the whole country seems to be threatened - to build indiscriminately - by excessive consumption of soil, which will inevitably and irreversibly alter the environmental balance, the rediscovery of the landscape value of crops that characterize - today - the sicilian countryside and techniques of sustainable conservation of rainwater, it seems of great relevance for the study and protection of soil and for the recovery of the identity of this territory.This abstract introduce to a multidisciplinary investigation yet started, which will aim to assess both technical and landscaping aspects, both economic and agronomic, and also ecological profiles of this technique to protect the biodiversity in these specialized fields. The investigation will aim also to give an historical perspective and an ex-post evaluation of interventions in order to lead to urban planning, landscape and spatial awareness. A further aim is the design of a network system which has impacts on the quality of rural tourism, which emphasizes, as an example, the interaction with the system of bicycle routes and footpaths, greenways, that is being developed in Sicily

Una ‘gateway city’ tra paesaggio e patrimonio culturale

The paper analyzes the achievable strategic role that the porto of Porto Empedocle (sinergy by Agrigento, its “city mother”) could have. This marginal city, localized in the center of the African side of the Sicily, is far from European politics, but this situation could change. It’s necessary to improve the sea routes and to activate the disused railway line from Porto Empedocle to Castelvetrano (near Trapani). This solution will help the accessibility of Agrigento and the development of the little coastal towns organized in a slow and sustainable network

RIGENERAZIONE DI CITTADINE RURALI MEDIANTE IL TURISMO SOSTENIBILE: UN MODELLO DI VALUTAZIONE

Rehabilitation of ancient towns poses special questions because of the existing complex physical and social ties that can be properly integrated in decisions on sustainable urban planning by multi-criteria evaluations. This work proposes a description model aiding actions and decisions for the rehabilitation of historic centres through tourism development in Sicilian hinterland areas. The decision problem concerns the town of Cianciana, which in recent years has been appreciated by strangers who stay on this town to live with the local inhabitants. Despite this international attention, at present, the town is undergoing local’s depopulation, gentrification and economic crisis. The proposed description model provides decision makers with a cognitive framework helpful in the identification of the best strategy of tourist accommodation involving unused historic real estate. The multi-criteria model is built by a methodology resulting from the integration of the constructive approach and the down-up approach. The evaluation model was inspired by the particular case of Cianciana, but it would be appropriate for decisions in analogous circumstances.DOI: http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.14.0

Draft genome sequence and gene annotation of the uropathogenic bacterium Proteus mirabilis Pr2921

Here, we report the genome sequence of Proteus mirabilis Pr2921, a uropathogenic bacterium that can cause severe complicated urinary tract infections. After gene annotation, we identified two additional copies of ucaA, one of the most studied fimbrial protein genes, and other fimbriae related-proteins that are not present in P. mirabilis HI4320

Pianificazione dei sistemi urbani: complessità e semplificazione

Il richiamo alla multidisciplinarietà e interdisciplinarietà è frequente in letteratura ma, spesso, non si riflette a fondo sul nodo che caratterizza tali approcci, la difficoltà comunicativa conseguenza dei diversi linguaggi