Satellite-based preventive diagnosis : use of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry on cultural heritage sites in Italy

We exploited ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) datasets of the Italian Extraordinary Plan for Environmental Remote Sensing (EPRS-E), to analyse ground motions over two Italian cultural heritage sites. The deformation patterns over the archaeological site of Capo Colonna in Calabria Region, confirmed the persistent exposure of the ruins to regional-scale land subsidence, with up to 5-10 mm/yr motion velocity observed for the Column. Similarly, a high level of conservation criticality was assigned to the church of San Romolo in the countryside settlement of Bivigliano, Northern Tuscany. The strong correlation between the observed structural damages, PSI data and the pre-existing landslide maps highlighted the need of updating the inventory, redefining the boundaries of the landslide which actually threatens the preservation of the historical building.