Environmental issues in Amalfi

Currently, our group is in Roma for few days to explore this exotic and historic city. I am sad to be leaving Italy soon.

Before arriving in Roma, we visited  Amalfi to study the environmental history there. On the first night when I arrived in Amalfi, I fell in love with the coast and how unique it is for the Mediterranean Sea to locate the cities far above the shore. I’ve never seen a place quite like this!  The terrain of Amalfi has many environmental issues that affect the area. In my articles,  I have learned about some aspects of the location, such as landslides, soil erosion, fires, and the need for terrace farming. While driving up the steep, narrow streets of Amalfi, I noticed that the rock and dirt on the cliffs have been covered by massive black nets or fences. I believe the purpose of these measures is for preventing the soil from sliding down the slope suddenly since people’s homes or property could be a target. These preventive measures give people at least a bit of time to escape the danger if a landslide occurs. Landslides has been a constant problem for the Amalfi residents, due to soil erosion. This condition is mainly caused by excessive rainfall, and at times by fires which destroy the plants that anchor the soil.  Soil erosion usually occurs during the spring and autumn seasons.

What makes Amalfi stand out are the delicious lemons grown on the farms. Our group had an opportunity to visit a local lemon orchard in Amalfi. The healthy lemon tree is so vibrant! During the tour, I learned the short history of limoncello in Italy. In the 90s, the factory producing the famous lemon liqueur grew quickly in Amalfi. It was very difficult for the small business, which produced the lemon drink to survive. This situation occurred because the small business could not keep up with the demand for limoncello from consumers. The farmers we met in our tour made the point that the 95% of their income is a result of tourism. Also in one of the articles, I read that agro-tourism has encouraged farmers to increase maintenance of their terrace farming operations, in order to add to the cultural landscape of the Amalfi Coast.

During our Amalfi visit, we were able to visit the European University Centre for Cultural Heritage. This is located in a beautiful villa, where people do research to protect against major hazards of all kinds. For instance, these people study topics like protection against earthquakes, cultural protection, cultural heritage, etc. Their main focus is on natural disasters; they carry on training activities for how to protect cultural heritage in areas most likely to experience natural disasters. Since the European University Centre for Cultural Heritage villa has a panoramic view towards the Mediterranean, I learned on our tour hat wealthy American people have come here to get married. Another fun fact is that a big music festival happens in this villa. During June through September, important musicians and composers arrive here to perform a massive Ravello music festival.