Social vulnerability and damage perception: two italian case studies|Vulnerabilita sociale e percezione del danno: due casi studio in Italia

The paper proposes the results of an empirical research, carried out between 2011 and 2015 in Belìce, in particular in the centers of Gibellina and Santa Ninfa. It focused on the processes of material and identity reconstruction following the 1968 earthquake. In particu-lar, we want to focus on the link between the degree of social vulnerability of a community and the social construction of the damage perception. Indeed, the two case studies show how many economic, political-organizational and cultural factors affect the damage perception following a disaster, even in a way that differs from the objective calculation of the damage suffered.