Ruins and Remains as a Background: Natural Catastrophes, Abandonment of Medieval Villages, and the Perspective of Civilization during the 20th Century in the Central Apennines (Abruzzi Region, Central Italy)

Abstract

The resettlement of villages strongly damaged by catastrophes during the 20th century played a key role in the modification of the Apennine landscape in Italy. Following their abandonment, the remains of the medieval settlements progressively deteriorated in their ruined condition, becoming ghost villages often made of sparse portions of buildings, traces of outer walls, and isolated vestiges of ancient monuments colonized by vegetation. Five cases of central Apennine abandoned villages in the Abruzzi region (Frattura, Sperone, Albe, Salle, and Gessopalena) were investigated, combining information on the local adverse geological conditions with the historical reconstruction of their abandonment and resettlement, based on archive documents from the 19th and 20th centuries. The history of these localities was conditioned by two strong earthquakes that struck the Abruzzi region in 1915 (magnitude 7.1) and 1933 (magnitude 5.9), and by slope instability. In all cases, abandonment and resettlement produced new villages against the background of ancient ruins and remains. In conclusion, the paper discusses the potential use of the material traces of local histories with educational aims. Geological evidence of natural hazards, remains of the abandoned settlements and resettled villages could be arranged in museums aimed at increasing the awareness of natural hazards and risks.

An Interpretive Ruination Model of the Built Heritage in Inner Areas: The Case Study of the Neighbourhood Granfonte in Leonforte

“…The preservation of non-monumental urban ruins has been approached in three distinct ways. The first method focuses on maintaining the memory of a traumatic event that led to the abandonment of a place, such as the examples seen in Gessopalena, Italy [96], and Oradour-sur-Glane, France [97]. The primary objective here is to freeze the ruins in their current state and transform them into a monument.…”

Investigating the Relationship between Plant Species Composition and Topography in the Tomeyama Landslide: Implications for Environmental Education and Sustainable Management in the Happo-Shirakami Geopark, Japan

“…Efforts in environmental education related to landslides have focused predominantly on highlighting their geomorphological and geological formation processes [7]. Furthermore, some initiatives have involved the preservation and utilization of the landforms sculpted by landslides or the remnants of structures impacted by such events [8]. Exemplary cases include sites that showcase intricate geological and geomorphic formation processes, such as the establishment of a geological and landslide museum in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy [9], as well as field-based educational endeavors along the Dorset and eastern Devon coasts in England [10,11] and within the Picos de Europa National Park in Spain [12].…”

“…Exemplary cases include sites that showcase intricate geological and geomorphic formation processes, such as the establishment of a geological and landslide museum in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy [9], as well as field-based educational endeavors along the Dorset and eastern Devon coasts in England [10,11] and within the Picos de Europa National Park in Spain [12]. Moreover, sites preserving the effects of human-induced landslides, such as the Vajont landslide in Italy [8], the Chiu-fen-erh-shan landslide following the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan [13], and the Aratozawa landslide triggered by the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi inland earthquake in Japan [14], together with their associated structures, have been considered instructive examples. However, there are limited cases in which the relationship between plant species composition and terrain characteristics in landslide areas has been incorporated actively into on-site educational approaches.…”