Geologia dell’Ambiente
Poste Italiane S.p.a. - Spedizione in Abbonamento Postale - D.L. 353/2003 (conv. in L. 27/02/2004 n° 46) art. 1 comma 1 - DCB Roma
Supplemento al n. 3/2012
ISSN 1591-5352
Periodico trimestrale della SIGEA
Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Bari - Italy, 24-28 September 2012
Geoheritage:
Protecting
and Sharing
7th International Symposium ProGEO on the Conservation of the Geological Heritage
3rd Regional Meeting of the ProGEO SW Europe Working Group
www.geoheritagesymposium-bari2012.org
preprint
Geologia dell’Ambiente • Supplemento al n. 3/2012
ProGEO – SIGEA
Geoheritage: Protecting and Sharing
Proceedings and fieldtrip guides of the
7th International Symposium ProGEO on the Conservation
of the Geological Heritage
Edited by
Mario Bentivenga & Francesco Geremia
Bari, Italy
24-28 September 2012
HONORARY COMMITTEE
Barbanente Angela De Bernardinis Bernardo
Demicheli Luca
Doglioni Carlo
Emiliano Michele Fiorentino Mauro Graziano Gian Vito Petrocelli Corrado Schittulli Francesco SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Assessore Qualità del Territorio della Regione Puglia
Presidente ISPRA - Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale
Segretario EuroGeoSurveys - The Geological Surveys of Europe
University “La Sapienza” Roma - Presidente Società Geologica Italiana
Sindaco della Città di Bari
Magnifico Rettore Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Presidente del Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi
Magnifico Rettore Università degli Studi di Bari - Aldo Moro
Presidente della Provincia di Bari
Andrasanu Alexandru Bentivenga Mario Brilha Josè De Wever Patrick Díaz-Martínez Enrique Di Loreto Eugenio Erikstad Lars Geremia Francesco
Gianolla Piero
Giovagnoli M. Cristina Gisotti Giuseppe Kazanci Nizamettin Mastronuzzi Giuseppe Nenonen Keijo Pellegrini Luisa Pignone Raffaele Prosser Giacomo Sabato Luisa University of Bucarest, Romania - ProGEO Vicepresident
University of Basilicata, Italy - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
University of Minho, Portugal - ProGEO Portugal Representative and Geoheritage Editor-in-Chief
Dept. Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France - IUGS National Committee
France and IUGS Task Group Geoheritage Chairman
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España - SW Europe Working Group ProGEO Coordinator
Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi, Italy
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway - ProGEO Executive Secretary and Newsletter Editor
SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
University of Ferrara, Italy
ISPRA - Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Italy
President of SIGEA - Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
University of Ankara, Turkey - ProGEO Southeastern Europe WG Coordinator
University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Italy - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Geological Survey of Finland - ProGEO Northern Europe WG Coordinator
University of Pavia, Italy
Servizio Geologico, Sismico e dei Suoli - Regione Emilia Romagna
University of Basilicata, Italy - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Italy - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Sansò Paolo Schiattarella Marcello Simone Oronzo Vdovets Marina Wimbledon William A. P. Zarlenga Francesco Zofia Alexandrowicz University of Salento, Italy - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
University of Basilicata
SIGEA - Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
VSEGEI, Russia - ProGEO Vicepresident
University of Bristol, UK - ProGEO President and Geoheritage Editor-in-Chief
ENEA – Roma - SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland - ProGEO Vicepresident and Central Europe WG Coordinator
Conveners
Antonello Fiore & Salvatore Valletta
SIGEA Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Geologia dell’Ambiente
Periodico trimestrale della SIGEA
Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale
Sommario
Supplemento al n. 3/2012
Anno xX - luglio-settembre 2012
a cura di
Iscritto al Registro Nazionale della Stampa n. 06352
Autorizzazione del Tribunale di Roma n. 229
del 31 maggio 1994
Comitato scientifico
Mario Bentivenga, Aldino Bondesan,
Giancarlo Bortolami, Aldo Brondi,
Felice Di Gregorio, Giuseppe Gisotti,
Giancarlo Guado, Gioacchino Lena,
Giacomo Prosser, Giuseppe Spilotro
Consiglio Direttivo nazionale 2010-2013
Davide Baioni, Domenico Bartolucci,
Federico Boccalaro, Giancarlo Bortolami,
Antonio Fiore (Tesoriere), Fabio Garbin (Segretario),
Francesco Geremia, Giuseppe Gisotti (Presidente),
Gioacchino Lena (Vice Presidente),
Massimo Massellani, Vincent Ottaviani,
Andrea Vitturi, Francesco Zarlenga
PLENARY SESSION - INVITED SPEAKERS
5
GEOSITES
9
GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE AND LAND-USE PLANNING
90
GEOPARK AND GEOTURISM
130
COOPERATION AND EDUCATION
180
FIELDTRIP GUIDES
210
Comitato di redazione
Federico Boccalaro, Giorgio Cardinali,
Giovanni Conte, Gioacchino Lena,
Paola Mauri, Maurizio Scardella
Direttore responsabile
Giuseppe Gisotti
Procedura per l’accettazione degli articoli
I lavori sottomessi alla rivista dell’Associazione,
dopo che sia stata verificata la loro pertinenza
con i temi di interesse della Rivista, saranno
sottoposti ad un giudizio di uno o più Referees.
Redazione
SIGEA: tel./fax 06 5943344
Casella Postale 2449 U.P. Roma 158
[email protected]
www.sigeaweb.it
Progetto grafico e impaginazione
Angelo Perrini
[email protected]
Pubblicità
SIGEA
Stampa
Tipolitografia Acropoli, Alatri - FR
Abbonamento annuale: Euro 30,00
In copertina: Il promontorio di Capo Colonna Area calanchiva di Aliano
Artificial caves of Apulia,
a poorly exploited cultural
heritage
Fiore A.(1,2), Martimucci V.(3), Parise M.(3,4) &
Sammarco M.(5)
(1) Autorità di Bacino della Puglia, Valenzano (BA)
[email protected]
(2) SIGEA, sez. Puglia
(3) Federazione Speleologica Pugliese
[email protected]
(4) IRPI, National Research Council, Bari, Italy
[email protected]
(5) Salento University, Dept. Cultural Heritage,
Lecce, Italy
[email protected]
Keywords: artificial caves, cultural
heritage, Apulia
Abstract
T
he paper deals with the artificial caves
of Apulia, that represent an extraordinary, often not very well known, cultural
heritage which only in a few occasions
is properly exploited. Besides being one of
the most interesting Italian regions for the
presence of natural caves, Apulia has also a
great number and variety of artificial cavities.
These have been realized by man in different
epochs and for different purposes: from rupestrian villages and settlements, to hydraulic
works (including several km-long underground aqueducts), to worship sites, and
working places such as underground quarries and olive oil mills. The Apulian territory is
characterized for its whole extension by these
features. So far, the official regional register
of artificial cavities, managed by the Apulian
Speleological federation, counts 1,000 caves,
but the real number is estimated to be at least
three times greater. In the present paper we
briefly describe the main category of artificial
cavities in Apulia, pointing out to the main
elements to consider in order to reach a correct exploitation of this remarkable cultural
heritage.
Apulia region of southern Italy, an almost
entirely carbonate territory, therefore strongly
interested by karst processes and displaying
a great variety of surface and subsurface
karst landforms, shows also an high number
of artificial caves, realized by man in different epochs and for different purposes. So far,
1,000 artificial caves are listed in the official
regional register, managed by the Apulian
Speleological Federation (FSP, website http://
www.fspuglia.it/), but it is estimated that
at least 3,000 caves are actually located in
Apulia, covering practically all the provinces
and spread in very different geological and
morphological settings.
History of Apulia has been accompanied
during the centuries by development of artificial caves, that at places have become the
Figure 1 – Ancient aqueducts in Apulia: left, passage within the Fontana della Stella aqueduct at Gravina di Puglia (photo
M. Traverso); right, the arches in the final sector of the Triglio aqueduct, near Taranto.
main feature of the landscape, giving life to
the so-called “rupestrian culture” (Fonseca,
1980). Since the Middle Age, caves excavated
by man had a remarkable role in the daily life
of Apulian people, from working activities, to
worship sites, water works, and as housing
places. Over time, most of these artificial
caves have been abandoned, and subject to
degradation. In many cases, they have suffered damage from later human activities, up
to destruction. Notwithstanding this, there
still exist in Apulia a huge heritage of underground cultural sites, that only in a limited
number of situations is adequately protected
and exploited. In this contribution, we aim at
highlighting the high potential of exploitation
represented by the artificial caves of Apulia.
To reach such a goal, we will briefly describe
the main typologies of caves, subdivided as
follows: a) underground aqueducts; b) civilian settlements; c) worship sites; and d) working places (in turn, divided into underground
quarries and olive oil mills).
Underground aqueducts are the main type
of artificial cavities belonging to the category
of hydraulic works: they are a precious testimony of the efforts made by ancient populations to supply with water towns and villages.
If we think of the time when these structures
were realized, it is impressive the knowledge
ancients had of the geological, morphological
and hydrogeological characters of the territory. They also testify the engineering capability
of ancient populations, that were able to build
km-long complex hydraulic structures, with a
mostly underground development. Within the
framework of a nation-wide project by the
Italian Speleological Society (SSI; see Parise
et alii, 2009) thirteen aqueducts have been
inventoried in Apulia, the most important of
which being the 18-km long Triglio aqueduct,
serving in Roman time the town of Taranto
(Delle Rose et alii, 2006), the middle age
aqueduct at Gravina in Puglia (Bixio et alii,
2007), and the roman aqueduct of Brindisi
(Cera, 2008). Long sectors of these hydraulic
structures are in good state of conservation,
if not still working, and might be exploited
to show to the young generations the efforts
made in the past for a sustainable use of the
hydric resources in karst territories.
The typical deep karst valleys of the territory around Taranto (gravine, Fig. 2; see
Parise et alii, 2003) are the main scenario
hosting the caves of the so-defined “rupestrian civilization” (Fonseca, 1980), mostly
developed in medieval times. A great number
of man-made cavities in the steep to vertical walls of gravine, organized in multi-story
and connected levels typically characterize the landscape, representing the main
landforms. Notwithstanding several sites
are affected by instability phenomena, which
evolution already brought to partial or total
destruction of several caves, many others are
in good conditions and could be the perfect
location for hiking or trekking paths, putting
together naturalistic values and historical
heritage. Some important events are already
being organized in these settings, such as the
Easter procession at Ginosa di Puglia, where
Geologia dell’Ambiente • Supplemento al n. 3/2012
53
54
the landscape of Rione Casale hosts a representation of the passion of Christ.
Rupestrian settlements are, however, not
limited to the classical territory of gravine,
and many other sites are distributed all over
Apulia, from the Pulsano valley in Gargano,
to other sites in Salento (Sammarco et alii,
2008).
Strictly linked to the category of civilian
settlements, and the gravine-like landscape,
worship sites are very common in Apulia, where a high number of caves has been dug by
man and used for religious purposes (Dell’Aquila & Messina, 1998). Frescos and wall
paintings make this type of artificial cavity a
real artistic treasure, which unfortunately has
suffered severe damage over the years due to
illegal plundering.
As concerns working sites in underground
Apulia, probably the most typical activity is
represented by the production of olive oil in
subterranean oil mills (Monte, 1995; De Marco & Sannicola, 2001). The whole region is
characterized by the presence of these sites,
which locally can be considered micro-settlements, that included also sites where to sleep,
recover tools, stables for the animals, to create a real underground life. Oil mills have been
restored in many localities of Apulia, some are
open to tourists, and locally have become one
of the main attractions of Apulian towns (for
instance, at Presicce, in the Lecce province).
ground surface (Barnaba et alii, 2010; Fiore &
Parise, 2012; Parise, 2012).
At the same time, there also exist long
stretches of underground quarries that do
not show instability signs, and that could
be therefore considered suitable for exploitation, in order to attract a tourism interested
in industrial archaeology, and to describe the
working activities that in the past decades
were the main (if not the only) possibility of
work for many Apulian towns.
This brief description of the main categories of artificial caves in Apulia has as aim to
point out the remarkable heritage present in
the region, only a very limited part of which
has been so far exploited. History, archaeology
and culture are maintained in these sites, that
might be brought to light to the local populations as well as to tourists visiting Apulia. In
this sense, the recent issued regional law LR
33/2009 “Safeguard and exploitation of the
geological and speleological heritage” offers
interesting possibilities (Fiore et alii, 2011):
for the first time, artificial cavities are specifically mentioned, and considered as a part
of the cultural heritage of the region, being
included within the definition of “speleological heritage”: “the network of underground
sites, originated by karst processes in terrestrial or marine environments, or created by
anthropogenic activities in natural or urban
settings”. Thus, possibility of exploitation do
exist at present. It is, of course, necessary to
identify and define the cultural value of artificial cavities, and to properly evaluate their
stability conditions. Once this is done, they
can be used as sites for industrial archaeology (underground quarries), testimonies of
the rural life (working spaces, food storage,
snow and ice storage, etc.) or as hydraulic
systems (ancient aqueducts, channels for
water transport, cisterns, etc.). It has also to
Figure 2 – The Penzieri Gravina at Grottaglie, one of the be noted that at several sites the work carried
many valleys that characterize the sector surrounding the
Gulf of Taranto. Within this geomorphological scenario, very out by man during the excavation resulted in
complex settlements and villages were realized.
exposing local stratigraphy of geological importance, that are not visible at the surface,
Another interesting typology of working thus creating unique opportunities for estasite is represented by underground quarries: blishing peculiar geosites where to observe
man choose in the past to extract the building different types of geological features.
materials from the underground due to several reasons, the main ones being the presence References
of the rocks with the best characteristics at Barnaba F., Caggiano T., Castorani A., Delle Rose M., Di
Santo A.R., Dragone V., Fiore A., Limoni P.P., Parise
a certain depth, not exposed at the surface,
M. & Santaloia F. (2010) – Sprofondamenti conand the need to preserve surface land to be
nessi a cavità antropiche nella regione Puglia.
used for agriculture (Parise, 2010). Very comAtti 2° Workshop Internazionale “I sinkholes.
plex systems of galleries were thus created
Gli sprofondamenti catastrofici nell’ambiente
underground. Once abandoned, these have
naturale ed in quello antropizzato”, Roma, 3-4
dicembre 2009, 653-672.
often been affected by instability problems
due to degradation of the rock mass, and de- Bixio R., Parise M., Saj S. & Traverso M. (2007) –
L’Acquedotto sotterraneo di Gravina in Puglia
velopment of failures. In Apulia, underground
“Sant’Angelo – Fontane della Stella”. Opera
quarries are without any doubt the type of arIpogea, anno 9, n. 1, 105-112.
tificial caves more prone to instability, with Cera G. (2008) – L’acquedotto romano di Brindisi.
the possibility of sinkhole development at the
Rivista di Topografia Antica, 16, 107-126.
Geologia dell’Ambiente • Supplemento al n. 3/2012
Dell’Aquila F. & Messina A. (1998) – Le chiese rupestri di Puglia e Basilicata. Mario Adda editore,
Bari, 277 pp.
Delle Rose M., Giuri F., Guastella P., Parise M. &
Sammarco M. (2006) – Aspetti archeologici e
condizioni geologico-morfologiche degli antichi
acquedotti pugliesi. L’esempio dell’Acquedotto
del Triglio nell’area tarantina. Opera Ipogea,
anno 8, n. 1-2, 33-50.
De Marco M. & Sannicola G.C. (2001) – I frantoi ipogei nel territorio di Grottaglie. i Beni Culturali,
BetaGamma editrice, Viterbo, 9 (4-5), 55-61.
Fiore A. & Parise M. (2012) – Cronologia degli eventi di sprofondamento in Puglia, con particolare
riferimento alle interazioni con l’ambiente antropizzato. Mem. Descr. Carta Geologica d’Italia,
in press.
Fiore A., Martimucci V. & Parise M. (2011) – Nuove
opportunità per la conservazione e valorizzazione delle cavità artificiali in Puglia. Atti VII
Convegno Nazionale di Speleologia in Cavità
Artificiali, Urbino, 4-8 dicembre 2010, Opera
Ipogea, n. 1/2, 187-192.
Fonseca C.D. (1980) - La civiltà rupestre in Puglia.
In: AA.VV., La Puglia tra Bisanzio e l’Occidente,
36-116. Milano.
Monte A. (1995) – Frantoi ipogei del Salento. Edizioni del Grifo.
Parise M. (2010) – The impacts of quarrying in the
Apulian karst. In: Andreo B., Carrasco F., La Moreaux J.W. & Duran Valsero J.J. (eds), Advances
in research in karst media. Springer, 441–447.
Parise M. (2012) – A present risk from past activities: sinkhole occurrence above underground
quarries. Carbonates and Evaporites, DOI 101007/s13146-012-0088-3.
Parise M., Federico A., Delle Rose M. & Sammarco M.
(2003) – Karst terminology in Apulia (southern
Italy). Acta Carsologica, 32 (2), 65-82.
Parise M., Bixio R., Burri E., Caloi V., Del Prete S.,
Galeazzi C., Germani C., Guglia P., Meneghini M.,
& Sammarco M. (2009) - The map of ancient
underground aqueducts: a nation-wide project
by the Italian Speleological Society. Proc. Int.
Congr. Speleology, Kerrville, 19-26 July 2009, 3,
2027-2032.
Sammarco M., Parise M., Donno G., Inguscio S. & Rossi
E. (2008) - Il sistema rupestre di località Macurano presso Montesardo (Lecce, Puglia). Opera
Ipogea, 1-2. 273-282.