Archaeological Heritage and subsidence-induced flood risk: the emblematic case of Santa Croce in Ravenna (Italy)
Archaeological Heritage and subsidence-induced flood risk: the emblematic case of Santa Croce in Ravenna (Italy)
The archaeological complex of Santa Croce, located in the historic centre of Ravenna (Italy), within the buffer zone of the world heritage site of the Early Christian Monuments, near the Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, includes a 17th-century church, the remains of the original 5th-century basilica and of a Roman domus with well-preserved mosaic floors. Over the centuries, the area has undergone several extensive architectural transformations and has been affected by intense natural and anthropogenic subsidence, which lowered the original ground surface well below the current water table. The site, after the extensive archaeological excavations, has been repeatedly flooded over the past decades most recently in March 2025 due to the limitations and failures of the permanent drainage system installed in the late 1970s.
In 2022, as part of the EU Horizon 2020 research project SHELTER, a comprehensive geotechnical investigation campaign was carried out, including field and laboratory tests. Based on these data, a finite element numerical model was developed to simulate current seepage conditions within the excavated area and the effect of possible interventions to mitigate flood risk and related damages to archaeological structures. Key hydraulic parameters were calibrated back-analysing measurements obtained by a purposely implemented and still operating piezometric monitoring system.
Ilaria Bertolini; Michela Marchi; Guido Gottardi
4th International Symposium on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites
Case Histories in Heritage Preservation
https://doi.org/10.53243/tc301-2026-33