Bowing
The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
On 30 November 2022, the Maratea rockfall occurred on the slopes below Castrocucco castle in southern Italy. This landslide is the subject of an interesting paper (Santo and Massaro 2024) that has just been published in the journal Landslides. Fortunately, the landslide did not claim any lives, but it did destroy a section of an important road.
The landslide is located at [39.9353, 15.7497]. This is a Google Earth image of the site, collected in June 2022:-
The large, pre-existing landslide scar is very clear in this image, and Santo and Massaro (2024) report that 78 rockfall events were recorded in this area between 1986 and 2003. Subsequently, the construction of rockfall barriers reduced the risk on the road.
However, on 30 November 2022, the Maratea rockfall had a large impact on the road. This Google Earth image, collected in April 2023, shows the aftermath of this significant event:-
And here is a slider, showing before and after for the site:-
The analysis by Santo and Massaro (2024) indicates that about 5,550 m3 detached from high on the slope, enlarging a rockfall scar from December 2006. The landslide occurred following a spell of heavy rainfall in the preceding weeks, but there was negligible precipitation in the week before the failure.
The road has subsequently been reopened, with a warning system in place to try to anticipate any major failures. The long term solution is a tunnel that will bypass this section of road, but the prognosis for the ruins of the castle at the top of the slope is not good without further action to stabilise the cliff.
Reference
Santo, A. and Massaro, L., 2024. Landslide monitoring and maintenance plan along infrastructure: the example of the Maratea major rockfall (Southern Italy). Landslides. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-024-02409-3
