Decision-making errors and socio-political disputes over the Vajont dam disaster

The 9th of October 1963, 200 millions of cubic meters of rock detached from one side of the Vajont Valley (northern Italy) and slipped into a dam lake. The landslide generated water waves destroyed a town and some villages; nearly 2000 persons died. The Vajont dam and surrounding landscape currently represent, as a whole, the "intangible expressions" of the actions which led to such a hydrogeological catastrophe. They have a primary social value and need to be studied and protected as cultural heritage. The debate on the responsibilities of the disaster was influenced by the State Interest and became an ideological conflict. A post-agricultural society, committed to build a new national identity, was the context for the debate. Socio-political disputes biased data interpretation, data production, reports and scientific communication of experts and researchers. However, morphological and geotechnical uncertainties were reduced in time to undertake the countermeasures in favour of the collectivity.