Distribution and features of natural and anthropogenic sinkholes in Apulia

Sinkholes, of both natural and anthropogenic origin, represent the main geological hazard in Apulia, a region in southern Italy characterized for most of its extension by soluble rocks, with widespread presence of karst caves and man-made cavities. Occurrence of sinkholes in Apulia is described and analysed in this paper, by using the data extracted from the chronological database of sinkholes, produced by CNR-IRPI for the whole Italian territory. It appears that the frequency of documented events strongly increased in the last decades in Apulia, in the aftermath of a series of sinkholes that hit different parts of the region.