Integrated geomorphological mapping in the north-western sector of Agrigento (Italy)

The geomorphological map is an essential tool to perform a proper urban planning in mountainous or hilly areas. In this paper a multidisciplinary approach to derive a 1: 2000 geomorphological map is described. The proposed methodology consists of the integration between aerial photographs, acquired in 2003, and four datasets of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) measures to update a pre-existing landslide inventory. The integrated data were used to achieve a validated geomorphological map by means of a geomorphological survey. The study area is located in southern Italy (Agrigento, Sicily). The city of Agrigento, included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1997, is located on the Girgenti hill which is exposed on its northern side, to several landslide phenomena. The top of the hill is characterized by the presence of part of the cultural heritage of the city and is affected by rockfalls, rock topples and shallow-seated landslides, representing a serious risk for important historical buildings. The results demonstrate the validity of this method to achieve a suitable tool in landscape and cultural heritage management.