Sessione 2 - Ispra

INFORMAZIONI STORICHE E FENOMENI DI
SPROFONDAMENTO NEL COMPRENSORIO DELL’ANTICA
CITTÀ VOLSCA DI VELLETRI (RM)
di Aversa M. 1 , D’Aniello V. 2
ABSTRACT
Veliter, nowadays Velletri, is situated in the region outback close to the limit of geographical
district called Castelli Romani, while the territory is part of the geological region of
Vulcano laziale, also known as the volcanic district of the Alban Hills.
The town was built on an isolated relief (top at 332 m), situated in the external area of
the Tuscolano-Artemisio caldera. Most of the town territory is located on a base of pyroclasts
and tuffs, 150-250 m thick, from which the acid bulks of Monte Artemisio and
Maschio D’Ariano emerge.
The origin of Velletri is very ancient and mysterious: it is not certain whether the town
was founded by Latini, Etruschi or Volsci populations, which in any case are tied up to the
primitive history of the town.
Its urban structure has been modified several times in the history and its subsoil has been
exploited in the centuries by the population, which, boring in the tuff, has created a tangled
net of tunnels, caves and galleries. The underground caves are so many to form a network
of paths, used by the people to escape from the town in case of war.
In the last years, a lot of tunnels and caves have not been used anymore and this has
caused a loss of stability of buildings and streets built above the same, causing, often after
extreme meteorological conditions, the opening of several sinkholes, which have caused
collapses and chasms, especially in the old town centre.
In the Italian classification, this kind of collapse is specified as anthropogenic sinkhole.
Detailed investigations on the sinkholes that occurred in the last 40 years have been
performed to locate the town areas more interested by the risk. More than 35 news
about sinkholes have been found during the research.
The purpose of this study is to create a historic map of sinkholes in Velletri.
1. INTRODUZIONE
Gli antichissimi centri del Latium Vetus sono attualmente oggetto, troppo spesso, di particolari
fenomeni di interesse idrogeologico localizzato e la storia dell’evoluzione dei processi
di antropizzazione loro connessi evidenziano, quasi sempre, nascite molto lontane nel tempo
dell’urbanizzato stesso, aggregazioni umane legate ad ancestrali culti posti sulle alture del
rilievo cittadino dove è facile riscontrare la presenza di reperti archeologici come templi o
similari. Questo è un aspetto che coinvolge la maggior parte dei centri ubicati sulle partico-
1 ISPRA - Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale
2 AGAT - Associazione Geografica Ambiente e Territorio
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