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Geomorphological hazard and tourist vulnerability along Portofino Park trails (Italy) P. Brandolini, F. Faccini, M. Piccazzo To cite this version: P. Brandolini, F. Faccini, M. Piccazzo. Geomorphological hazard and tourist vulnerability along Portofino Park trails (Italy). Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Copernicus Publ. /Euro- pean Geosciences Union, 2006, 6 (4), pp.563-571. hal-00299331 HAL Id: hal-00299331 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00299331 Submitted on 27 Jun 2006 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 6, 563–571, 2006 www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/6/563/2006/ Natural Hazards © Author(s) 2006. This work is licensed and Earth under a Creative Commons License. System Sciences Geomorphological hazard and tourist vulnerability along Portofino Park trails (Italy) P. Brandolini1, F. Faccini1, and M. Piccazzo2 1DISAM Department, University of Genoa, Italy 2DIPTERIS Department, University of Genoa, Italy Received: 26 July 2005 – Revised: 7 April 2006 – Accepted: 7 April 2006 – Published: 27 June 2006 Abstract. The many trails existing in the coastal area of Swarbrooke et al., 2003). This phenomenon has led to in- Portofino Promontory are used by tourists for trekking or as creased risk and environmental impact, as in the case of pathways to small villages and beaches. The aim of this pa- Portofino Natural Park in the northwestern coastal sector of per is to define geomorphological hazard and tourist vulner- Italy; Portofino is an Italian seaside tourist resort of interna- ability in this area, within the framework of the management tional renown. and planning of hiking activities in Portofino Natural Park. The boom in hiking and related tourist activities along the In particular, processes triggered by gravity, running wa- steep slopes of the promontory, which are frequently affected ters and wave motion, affecting the slopes and the cliff, are by instability phenomena, has brought about an increase in considered. The typology of the trails and trail maintenance accidents involving visitors to the area. Data collected by are also taken into account in relation to weather conditions the C.N.S.A.S. (National Alpine and Speleological Rescue that can make the excursion routes dangerous for tourists. Corps) on rescue operations performed in a recent five-year In conclusion, an operative model is applied for the defi- period (1999–2004) on the park trails, show an average of nition of possible risk scenarios. This model is founded on 5–6 major rescue efforts per year, involving a total of 28 per- an inventory and the quantification of geomorphological haz- sons. ards and tourist vulnerability, in comparison with trail rescue data. The model can be applied to other environments and Taking the concept of risk (Varnes, 1984; Panizza, 1987; tourist areas. Bell, 1999; Grecu et al., 2003; Glade et al., 2005) as the start- ing point and defining it as a product of hazard and vulner- ability, an operative model has been applied for the assess- ment of possible risk scenarios, and tested in several morpho- 1 Introduction climatic environments within the framework of the Ministry of Education, University and Research project “Geomorpho- Research focused on geomorphological hazard associated logical heritage as a resource for sustainable tourism” (Bran- with tourist activities and facilities is currently taking on dolini et al., 2004a, b). This model analyzes geomorpholog- great importance because of hazard-related environmental ical instability phenomena, together with the structural fea- and socioeconomic ramifications. This trend is particularly tures characterizing the trails. In the case of particular mete- pertinent in the case of vast areas of the Alpine and Mediter- orological conditions (e.g. heavy rainfall, high temperatures, ranean regions. winds), the latter can contribute to increasing the risk of ac- Tourism has led to the occupation and utilisation of ar- cidents, as can the level of physical fitness and the technical eas marked by ever-increasing geomorphological fragility. skills of visitors. There has been an enormous increase in the number of visi- tors – visitors who are often inadequately prepared (in terms The aim of this study is to improve the above-mentioned of skills, experience and equipment) – to areas considered model, in order to make it applicable to a larger number virtually inaccessible just a few decades ago, in both high of morphodynamic environments and tourist areas. Greater mountain and coastal sectors (Dowling and Newsome, 2005; knowledge about the geomorphological hazards associated with hiking and trekking activities can contribute to making Correspondence to: P. Brandolini tourists more aware of natural phenomena and risky situa- ([email protected]) tions (Solana and Kilburn, 2003). Published by Copernicus GmbH on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 564 P. Brandolini et al.: Geomorphological risk in Portofino Park (Italy) 300 S.Rocco Camogli 250 Semaforo Nuovo S.Margherita Nozarego 200 summers and mild winters; b) a mid-hill zone on the northern slope, with lower mean winter 150 temperatures and higher ramm (rainfall) 100infall, especially in the sectors exposed to the N. In general, maximum rainfa50ll occurs in the autumn months, whereas the minimum takes place in the summer months (Fig.0 2). Annual mean rainfall varies between 1000 and 1400 mm (Fig. april may june july march august january february october 3) and the annual mean temperature ranges between 12september and 13°november decemberC, reaching a 23-24° C peak in the summer and a lowFig. of 2.7-Distribution8°C in the of annualwint meaner. rainfall. Fig. 1. Location of the study area. High-altitude (12 500 m) aerial photograph of the Promontory of Portofino (Flight Italia 94 – Con- sorzio Compagnie Aeronautiche, Parma). 2 General framework Situated about 25 km E of Genoa, the Portofino Promontory abruptly breaks up the continuity of the coastline between Genoa and Sestri Levante and covers a surface area of about 18 km2. It was declared a protected area in 1935. The promontory is a massive and prominent SSW pro- jection clearly differentiating the virtually rectilinear pattern of the surrounding coastline (Fig. 1). Considerable vari- ability of the morphology can be observed on the western Fig. 3. Isohyet map with meteorological stations. side, where the promontory extendsFigur ine a 3. N-S Isohye directiont map and with meteorological stations. is almost rectilinear between Camogli and Punta Chiappa for about 3 km. The eastern side is virtually parallel to the In general, maximum rainfall occurs in the autumn western side, with a heightened complexityWinds from and acoastal the S ex- are wmonths,arm and whereas satura theted minimum with w takesater placevapour in theaft summerer crossing wide expanses of tension of about 8 km. The inlets of Cala dell’Oro and San months (Fig. 2). Annual mean rainfall varies between 1000 Fruttuoso are located on the southernsea. side,As whichthey presentsencounter andand 1400 cli mmmb (Fig.the 3)nat andura thel ba annualrrier meanof th temperaturee Promontory, the temperature a general E-W orientation and extends for a length of about ranges between 12 and 13◦C, reaching a 23–24◦C peak in 6.5 km. decreases, causing condethens summeration of and la arg lowe a ofm 7–8ount◦Cs in of the w winter.ater, especially in the summer. This is Mt. Portofino (610 m a.s.l.) is the highest orographic largely due to the temperaWindsture fromgrad theient S be aretw warmeen andthe saturatedair and with the waterrock discontinuities. This elevation on the promontory. It stands on the divide vapour after crossing wide expanses of sea. As they en- that is subparallel to the southernproc shoreline,ess suppl whereies sev-the numcountererous andpere climbnnia thel spri naturalngs, barrierwhich of a there a Promontory,lso found at high altitudes (Fig. eral smaller peaks are observable, among which Mt. Tocco the temperature decreases, causing condensation of large (543 m a.s.l.), Mt. delle Bocche (5064). mT a.s.l.)hese andspri Mt.ngs Pol- have amountsbeen us ofed water, sinc especiallye histori inca thel ti summer.mes and This ar ise largelystill used today by trekkers lone (465 m a.s.l.). due to the temperature gradient between the air and the rock The climate of the promontory isan conditionedd visitors by (F theac mor-cini et aldiscontinuities.., 2005). This process supplies the numerous peren- phology, so that it can be subdivided into two zones: a) a nial springs, which are also found at high altitudes (Fig. 4). typically Mediterranean one on the southern slope, with dry, These springs have been used since historical times and are warm summers and mild winters; b) a mid-hill zone on the still used today by trekkers and visitors (Faccini et al., 2005). northern slope, with lower mean winter temperatures and The geological profile of the Promontory can be schemat- higher rainfall, especially in the sectors exposed to the N. ically indicated as Conglomerate overlying Flysch, along a Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 6, 563–571, 2006 www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/6/563/2006/ Figure 4. Geological sketch map: 1. Flysch; 2. Conglomerate; 3. Fault or fracture; 4. Attitude; 5. Water spring. 4 P. Brandolini et al.: Geomorphological risk in Portofino Park (Italy) 565 contact with a SSW dip direction (Fig. 4). The Flysch, dat- ing from the Upper Cretaceous – Paleocene (Corsi et al., 2001), is made up of marly limestone with thin interlay- ers of clayey shales, sandstones and calcarenites.

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