Re-photographed, after half a century, the territories affected by the 1968 earthquake to analyze the long-term impact of the earthquake on the landscape and the environment
Re-photographing the territories affected by earthquakes years later and superimposing the images through specific software to understand the changes in the landscape in a clear and immediate way, indirectly analyzing the consequences of seismic events from a social and environmental point of view. This is what has been done with the study created by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the University of Catania and the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo. The study, recently published in the scientific journal 'land' of MDPI, highlights how photography can be a useful tool for both scientific and informative-training purposes, with the ultimate goal of promoting awareness of seismic risk and other natural risks in the population.
“Starting from the substantial photographic archive heritage of the newspaper 'L'Ora' of Palermo, kept at the Central Library of the Sicilian Region, we investigated the effects on the territory of the earthquake that struck the night between 14 and 15 January 1968 Valle del Belice, in western Sicily”, explains Mario Mattia, INGV researcher and co-author of the study. "Through a campaign work carried out in 2020, we re-photographed those same places to detect the most recent territorial configuration and evaluate the impact of the earthquake over time".
After the disastrous events of 1968, the Belìce Valley had to wait a few decades before starting to experience the first signs of economic, social and cultural rebirth. However, the slow but constant depopulation of the area has contributed to accentuating the perception of 'abandonment' of an area where the reconstruction interventions, more than 50 years after the earthquake, have failed to bridge the gap with the rest of the Village.
"The work of re-photographing the Valley has allowed us to make reflections that corroborate what can still be deduced from direct observation of the area from the point of view, for example, of the abandonment and museumification of the ruins", continues the researcher. “A re-photographic plan over a wider period of time than ours would however allow for an even more accurate reading of long-term territorial and cultural processes. In fact, the 50 years that have passed since 1968, however interminable they have been for the local communities, are still too short a period of time to allow the changes to be effectively read in a territorial context that seems to have remained 'frozen' in time".
Re-photography is a technique often used in sociology and geomorphology as it is able to restore an effective didactic narration of the evolution of social and natural phenomena. Using the photographic (and re-photographic) tool to talk about natural hazards can represent an opportunity to improve risk perception and resilience in the population.
“In the Belìce Valley, until the 1968 earthquake, a low estimated seismic risk had not led to any risk mitigation or disaster management action. From this point of view, the impact of images in which the effects of the earthquake overlap with those of pre-existing urban settlements can stimulate reflection on the perception of seismic risk in schools and public environments. Furthermore, the re-photograph can be used to integrate the assessments for the identification of the most vulnerable areas of the Valley. These are the first fundamental steps towards understanding the seismic risk in Belice and towards the elaboration and implementation of related mitigation strategies", Matthias points out.
In conclusion, in the words of Prof. Gianni Petino of the University of Catania "It's within the project “Belice +50” which matures the collaboration between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Department of Design and Applied Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Catania. This collaboration has already produced the first printed volume published by INGV entitled "Belìce Point Zero” and now sees the realization of a scientific article in the prestigious Land-MDPI magazine which continues the process of analysis of the Belicino territory. The research activities have, among others, at least two reference orders, one in the mitigation of seismic risk and the other in maintaining the memory of local communities for a transformative resilience".
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BELÌCE VALLEY | Photography to analyze the long-term effects of earthquakes
Half a century later, the areas hit by the 1968 earthquake have been re-photographed to analyze the long-term impact of the earthquake on the landscape and the environment
Re-photographing the territories hit by earthquakes years later and superimposing the images through specific software to understand the changes in the landscape in a clear and immediate way, indirectly analyzing the consequences of seismic events from a social and environmental point of view. This is what has been done with the study carried out by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the University of Catania and the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo.
The study, recently published in MDPI's scientific journal 'Land', highlights how photography can be a useful tool for both scientific and educational purposes, with the ultimate goal of promoting awareness of seismic risk and other natural risks among the population.
"Starting from the substantial photographic archive of the Palermo newspaper 'L'Ora', kept at the Central Library of the Sicilian Region, we investigated the effects on the territory of the earthquake that hit the Valle del Belice, in western Sicily on the night between 14 and 15 January 1968”, explains Mario Mattia, researcher at INGV and co-author of the study. "Through a campaign work carried out in 2020, we re-photographed those same places to detect the most recent territorial configuration and evaluate the impact of the earthquake over time".
After the disastrous events of 1968, the Belìce Valley had to wait a few decades before starting to experience the first signs of economic, social and cultural rebirth. However, the slow but constant depopulation of the area has contributed to accentuating the perception of 'abandonment' of a territory in which the reconstruction interventions, more than 50 years after the earthquake, have failed to bridge the gap with the rest of the country.
"The re-photography of the Valley has allowed us some reflections that corroborate what can still be deduced from the direct observation of the territory from the point of view, for example, of the abandonment and museofication of the ruins", continues the researcher. “A re-photographic plan over a longer period of time than ours would allow an even more accurate reading of long-term territorial and cultural processes. The 50 years that have passed since 1968, in fact, interminable for local communities, are still too short a period of time to allow us to effectively read the changes in a territorial context that seems to have remained 'frozen' over time".
Re-photography is a technique often used in sociology and geomorphology as it is able to provide an effective didactic narrative of the evolution of social and natural phenomena. Using the photographic (and re-photographic) tool to talk about natural hazards can represent an opportunity to improve the perception of risk and resilience in the population.
“In the Belìce Valley, up to the 1968 earthquake, an estimated low seismic risk had not led to any risk mitigation or disaster management actions. From this point of view, the impact of images in which the effects of the earthquake are superimposed on those of pre-existing urban settlements can stimulate reflection on the perception of seismic hazard in schools and public environments. Furthermore, re-photography can be used to supplement the assessments for the identification of the most vulnerable areas of the Valley. These are the first fundamental steps understanding towards the seismic risk in the Belice area and towards the development and implementation of related mitigation strategies", explains Matthias.
In conclusion, as Prof. Gianni Petino of the University of Catania says: “It is within the "Belice +50" project that the collaboration between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Department of Design and Applied Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Catania is maturing. This collaboration has already produced the first printed volume published by INGV entitled "Belice Point Zero", and now sees the creation of a scientific article in the prestigious journal Land-MDPI that continues the analysis process of the Belicino territory. The research activities have, among others, at least two orders of reference, one in the mitigation of seismic hazard and the other in maintaining the memory of local communities for a transformative resilience".
Re-photographing the territories affected by earthquakes years later and superimposing the images through specific software to understand the changes in the landscape in a clear and immediate way, indirectly analyzing the consequences of seismic events from a social and environmental point of view. This is what has been done with the study created by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the University of Catania and the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo. The study, recently published in the scientific journal 'land' of MDPI, highlights how photography can be a useful tool for both scientific and informative-training purposes, with the ultimate goal of promoting awareness of seismic risk and other natural risks in the population.
“Starting from the substantial photographic archive heritage of the newspaper 'L'Ora' of Palermo, kept at the Central Library of the Sicilian Region, we investigated the effects on the territory of the earthquake that struck the night between 14 and 15 January 1968 Valle del Belice, in western Sicily”, explains Mario Mattia, INGV researcher and co-author of the study. "Through a campaign work carried out in 2020, we re-photographed those same places to detect the most recent territorial configuration and evaluate the impact of the earthquake over time".
After the disastrous events of 1968, the Belìce Valley had to wait a few decades before starting to experience the first signs of economic, social and cultural rebirth. However, the slow but constant depopulation of the area has contributed to accentuating the perception of 'abandonment' of an area where the reconstruction interventions, more than 50 years after the earthquake, have failed to bridge the gap with the rest of the Village.
"The work of re-photographing the Valley has allowed us to make reflections that corroborate what can still be deduced from direct observation of the area from the point of view, for example, of the abandonment and museumification of the ruins", continues the researcher. “A re-photographic plan over a wider period of time than ours would however allow for an even more accurate reading of long-term territorial and cultural processes. In fact, the 50 years that have passed since 1968, however interminable they have been for the local communities, are still too short a period of time to allow the changes to be effectively read in a territorial context that seems to have remained 'frozen' in time".
Re-photography is a technique often used in sociology and geomorphology as it is able to restore an effective didactic narration of the evolution of social and natural phenomena. Using the photographic (and re-photographic) tool to talk about natural hazards can represent an opportunity to improve risk perception and resilience in the population.
“In the Belìce Valley, until the 1968 earthquake, a low estimated seismic risk had not led to any risk mitigation or disaster management action. From this point of view, the impact of images in which the effects of the earthquake overlap with those of pre-existing urban settlements can stimulate reflection on the perception of seismic risk in schools and public environments. Furthermore, the re-photograph can be used to integrate the assessments for the identification of the most vulnerable areas of the Valley. These are the first fundamental steps towards understanding the seismic risk in Belice and towards the elaboration and implementation of related mitigation strategies", Matthias points out.
In conclusion, in the words of Prof. Gianni Petino of the University of Catania "It's within the project “Belice +50” which matures the collaboration between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Department of Design and Applied Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Catania. This collaboration has already produced the first printed volume published by INGV entitled "Belìce Point Zero” and now sees the realization of a scientific article in the prestigious Land-MDPI magazine which continues the process of analysis of the Belicino territory. The research activities have, among others, at least two reference orders, one in the mitigation of seismic risk and the other in maintaining the memory of local communities for a transformative resilience".
---
BELÌCE VALLEY | Photography to analyze the long-term effects of earthquakes
Half a century later, the areas hit by the 1968 earthquake have been re-photographed to analyze the long-term impact of the earthquake on the landscape and the environment
Re-photographing the territories hit by earthquakes years later and superimposing the images through specific software to understand the changes in the landscape in a clear and immediate way, indirectly analyzing the consequences of seismic events from a social and environmental point of view. This is what has been done with the study carried out by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the University of Catania and the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo.
The study, recently published in MDPI's scientific journal 'Land', highlights how photography can be a useful tool for both scientific and educational purposes, with the ultimate goal of promoting awareness of seismic risk and other natural risks among the population.
"Starting from the substantial photographic archive of the Palermo newspaper 'L'Ora', kept at the Central Library of the Sicilian Region, we investigated the effects on the territory of the earthquake that hit the Valle del Belice, in western Sicily on the night between 14 and 15 January 1968”, explains Mario Mattia, researcher at INGV and co-author of the study. "Through a campaign work carried out in 2020, we re-photographed those same places to detect the most recent territorial configuration and evaluate the impact of the earthquake over time".
After the disastrous events of 1968, the Belìce Valley had to wait a few decades before starting to experience the first signs of economic, social and cultural rebirth. However, the slow but constant depopulation of the area has contributed to accentuating the perception of 'abandonment' of a territory in which the reconstruction interventions, more than 50 years after the earthquake, have failed to bridge the gap with the rest of the country.
"The re-photography of the Valley has allowed us some reflections that corroborate what can still be deduced from the direct observation of the territory from the point of view, for example, of the abandonment and museofication of the ruins", continues the researcher. “A re-photographic plan over a longer period of time than ours would allow an even more accurate reading of long-term territorial and cultural processes. The 50 years that have passed since 1968, in fact, interminable for local communities, are still too short a period of time to allow us to effectively read the changes in a territorial context that seems to have remained 'frozen' over time".
Re-photography is a technique often used in sociology and geomorphology as it is able to provide an effective didactic narrative of the evolution of social and natural phenomena. Using the photographic (and re-photographic) tool to talk about natural hazards can represent an opportunity to improve the perception of risk and resilience in the population.
“In the Belìce Valley, up to the 1968 earthquake, an estimated low seismic risk had not led to any risk mitigation or disaster management actions. From this point of view, the impact of images in which the effects of the earthquake are superimposed on those of pre-existing urban settlements can stimulate reflection on the perception of seismic hazard in schools and public environments. Furthermore, re-photography can be used to supplement the assessments for the identification of the most vulnerable areas of the Valley. These are the first fundamental steps understanding towards the seismic risk in the Belice area and towards the development and implementation of related mitigation strategies", explains Matthias.
In conclusion, as Prof. Gianni Petino of the University of Catania says: “It is within the "Belice +50" project that the collaboration between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Department of Design and Applied Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Catania is maturing. This collaboration has already produced the first printed volume published by INGV entitled "Belice Point Zero", and now sees the creation of a scientific article in the prestigious journal Land-MDPI that continues the analysis process of the Belicino territory. The research activities have, among others, at least two orders of reference, one in the mitigation of seismic hazard and the other in maintaining the memory of local communities for a transformative resilience".
Photo 1: Rephotograph of a glimpse of the town of Montevago (Agrigento). The first photograph (in black and white) was taken shortly after the earthquake, the second (in colour) was taken in 2020. It is noted how little or nothing has changed in 52 years. - 1 Photo: Re-photograph of a glimpse of the town of Montevago (Agrigento). The first photograph (in black and white) was taken shortly after the earthquake, the second (in color) was taken in 2020. It is noticeable how little or nothing has changed in 52 years.
Photo 2: Rephotograph of a glimpse of the town of Santa Margherita Belice (Agrigento). The first photo (in black and white) is before the 1968 earthquake, the second (in color) is from 2020. - 2 Photo: Re-photograph of a glimpse of the town of Santa Margherita Belice (Agrigento). The first photo (in black and white) is from before the 1968 earthquake, the second (in color) is from 2020.
Photo 3: Earthquake victims in line waiting for trains to Northern Italy. After the earthquake, the state provided free train tickets to all earthquake victims to reach the North, where this huge mass (over 50.000 people) would have represented a cheap and non-unionized workforce. - 3 Photo: Earthquake victims lined up waiting for trains to Northern Italy. After the earthquake, the Government provided free train tickets to all earthquake victims to reach the North, where this enormous mass (over 50,000 people) would have represented a low-cost and non-unionized workforce.