In recent years, there has been growing interest in urban geomorphology both for its applications in terms of landscape planning, and its historical, cultural, and scientific interest. Due to recent urban growth, the identification of landforms in cities is difficult, particularly in Mediterranean and central European cities, characterized by more than 1000 years of urban stratification. By comparing and overlapping 19th-century cartography and modern topography from remote sensing data, this research aims to assess the morphological evolution of the city of Genoa (Liguria, NW Italy). The analysis focuses on a highly detailed 1:2’000 scale map produced by Eng. Ignazio Porro in the mid-19th century. The methodology, developed in QGIS, was applied on five case studies of both hillside and valley floor areas of the city of Genoa. Through map overlay and digitalization of elevation data and contour lines, it was possible to identify with great accuracy the most significant morphological transformations that have occurred in the city since the mid-19th century. In addition, the results were validated by direct observation and by drills data of the regional database. The results allowed the identification and quantification of the main anthropic landforms. The paper suggests that the same methodology can be applied to other historical urban contexts characterized by urban and architectural stratification.

This work presents the geomorphological features associated with the anthropic morphogenesis of the Bisagno Stream catchment, combined with the geo-hydrological hazards associated with landslides and floods. This catchment is internationally known for its recurring high-magnitude floods and its geo-hydrological hazards associated with the large and widespread presence of elements exposed at risks. It experienced severe morphological changes due to anthropogenic interventions related to urban sprawl and agriculture. Anthropogenic modifications to the former landscape have been particularly widespread and pervasive over the coastline, the floodplain, and the slopes. They include a general alteration of the pristine landforms, excavation and landfill forms, channelization and culvert of riverbeds, and terraced slopes. The 1:20,000 scale map allows to assess the relationships existing among structures and infrastructures, anthropogenic landforms, and landslides and flood-prone areas. Thus, this tool provides relevant information for land-use planning and land management, in particular under the perspective of geo-hydrological hazards mitigation.

Landslides are a major threat for population and urban areas. Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is a powerful tool for identifying landslides and monitoring their evolution over long periods and has proven to be very useful especially in urban areas, where a sufficient number of PS can be generated. In this study, we applied PS interferometry to investigate the landslide affecting Santo Stefano d’Aveto (Liguria, NW Italy) by integrating classic interferometric techniques with cross-correlation analysis of PS time-series and with geological and geotechnical field information. We used open-source software and packages to process Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite for both ascending and descending orbits over the period 2015–2021 and calculate both the vertical motion and the E-W horizontal displacement. By computing the cross-correlation of the PS time-series, we identified three families of PS with a similarity greater than 0.70. The cross-correlation analysis allowed subdividing the landslide in different sectors, each of which is characterized by a specific type of movement. The geological meaning of this subdivision is still a matter of discussion but it is presumably driven by the geomorphological setting of the area and by the regional tectonics.

Hydrogeological mapping is a key tool for groundwater resource management. Generally, hydrogeological maps focus mainly on porous or karst aquifer at large scale. In a fractured-rock aquifer, the groundwater flow path is not immediately deductible due to the intrinsic complexity of fracture systems. Then, it is of crucial importance collecting a complete dataset describing the site of interest: fault and strata patterns, geomorphological features, occurrence of springs. Here we present the hydrogeological map at 1:10,000 scale of the fractured rock aquifer of Conglomerate of Portofino (Italy). The graphical information contained in this map is based on the authors’ field survey and the revision of papers written for academic purposes and technical reports. The aim of the research is to achieve a useful tool for land planning, conservation of groundwater resource and geo-hydrological risk reduction in the unique area of the Natural Park of Portofino.

In the last years there is growing interest on urban geomorphology both for the links with landscape planning and for its historical, cultural and scientific interest.The identification of landforms in urban contexts is particularly difficult due to the progressive stratification of urban phases: the foundation of cities in the Mediterranean area dates back to ancient times and their growth in size is generally significant from the Middle Ages. This makes it frequent to find landforms which date back to more than 1000 years ago: they can be new, man-made landforms or modifications of natural ones, particularly coastal or fluvial features. Land modifications are particularly significant in the last 2 centuries, notably in the second half of the C19th and in the second half of the C20th, two periods identified as the potential start of the Anthropocene.Anthropogenic terrain features are generally due to excavation and fill: unlike natural landforms which are generally identifiable through field surveys, the former require field observations, cartographical comparisons, multitemporal comparison of topographical views and historical photographs, geognostic investigations and geophysical surveys.This research presents the results of a multitemporal analysis of the city of Genoa carried out by superimposing data from nineteenth-century historical cartography and topographical data from Remote Sensing.  The 1:2.000 scale map of Ignazio Porro, dating back to the first half of the C19th, has been digitalised on Lidar images from 2019 and with 1 m resolution, provided by Genoa Municipality. This methodology, developed with QGIS, has been applied on 5 sample areas particularly significant for their anthropogenic modifications: the area around Sant’Agata bridge in Val Bisagno, the area of Morandi Bridge in Val Polcevera, the road called Circonvallazione a Monte, the Promontory of the Lighthouse and the Via Digione area. Through the overlaying of multitemporal cartographies it was possible to identify and quantify with great precision excavation, landfill and mixed areas, allowing the identification of the most significant anthropogenic landforms. The obtained results have been validated through direct observations and supported by data from the geognostic regional database, revealing the potential of this approach for other urban areas.

Extreme precipitation has become increasingly frequent in the last years in Liguria, a hilly and mountainous region in Nortwest Italy. In particular, the Genoa metropolitan area is internationally known for rainfall ground effects: from the beginning of this millennium four intense flash floods have been recorded and as many rainfall-induced landslide periods with significant impacts in roads, buildings and underground utility networks.These phenomena are also related with more than a century of urbanization that has completely changed landforms and increased the vulnerability of the area.The research consists of preliminary study based on the production of three different maps: Landslide inventory map, Landslide susceptibility zoning map and a preliminary Man-made landform map that could help to describe better the Urban Geomorphology of Genoa metropolitan area, characterized by isolated and spread houses laying on terraced slopes mixed with high density urban area with aged decametric retaining walls.On site monitoring, satellite interferometric data and historical maps were used to support the production of cartography work.In a second step, the above maps were associated with underground utility networks (water and energy) categorized by age, diameter and material to know the potential failure risks induced both by geomorphological and structural factors.Thanks to this research underground assets management is expected to be more efficient, determining priorities for actions in areas with higher risk.