Stability problems of some towns in Central Italy: geotechnical situations and remedial measures

In Southern Etruria (Central Italy) many ancient towns rising on rock mesas or buttes are threatened by landslides involving the cliffs. Such instability phenomena are evidence of the natural geomorphological process active in the whole region. The paper describes the instability phenomena and the remedial measures adopted; the need to design stabilization criteria taking into account both the widescale geotechnical conditions and the impact of anthropic activities is also stressed.