Geological constraints to the urban shape evolution of Ariano Irpino(Avellino province,Italy)

摘要

The effects of slope instabilities on the urban setting of Ariano Irpino (Italy) are here dealt with.The sandy nature of the high-angle slopes favours a severe linear incision,resulting in deep gullies,and a fast sloperetreat,which high rate is also confirmed by archival sources. Falls,topples and slides also contribute to modifythe shape of the urban area of Ariano,eventually evolving into debris flows. Rainfall events,human activities andearthquakes are the main triggering factors of the slope instabilities. However,some episodes occurred duringdry periods and not related to either earthquakes or anthropogenic causes,induced to hypothesize different causalmechanisms. Following a description of the main landslides which caused the progressive shape evolution ofthe Ariano urban area,some considerations are spent on the related hazard. Finally,an overview of the ongoingremedial measures is given,which allows to evaluate to what extent “living with landslides” at Ariano is possible.