PROTECTION WORKS AGAINST THE EROSION OF THE COASTS NEAR TO TORRE OVO IN CAMPOMARINO DI MARUGGIO (TA)

Abstract During the preparation of the municipal plan of the coasts (PCC) of Maruggio in Taranto province, following the guidelines of the Regional Plan of the Coasts (PRG), the geological study of the Ionian coasts of Campomarino, near the Tower Ovo " Torre Ovo” was deepened, because subject to erosion and therefore necessitating of protection works. Torre Ovo is the base of an ancient Greek - Roman port of the IV sec a.C. and of the famous "petrified fossil forest". The study ,after a meteo-marine classification of the area and a detailed geological and geotechnical analysis, examines what might be the most effective works suitable to mitigate the erosion process and the effects that such choice induces on the surrounding environment in terms of geomorphological alteration and environmental impact . The recommendations of the plan foresee the realization of a close protection work : limestone cliff with rocks of appropriate weight in order to redraw the coastline of the cliff with the aim to obtain a natural morphology compliant with the environment . The area surrounding the tower, once safe, can be accessible and enhanced thanks to the geological characteristics of the "fossil forest ". The marine geological site is important either because it is constituted by burrows built by bivalves, gastropods , rudists, etc., probably during the Calabrian, and discovered by the abrasive action of the sea, or because it marks the transition between the Pleistocene “panchina” type calcarenites and the recent gray-yellowish sands, or because of the historical importance of the Roman port, now submerged, and the Tower itself. For its size, use, history over the centuries (Giaccari, 2000), and its overhanging position on the sea, easily visible from all over the surrounding coastline, the Tower of the Kingdom of Naples has characterized the site, so that the surrounding coast took his name and represents the symbol of the stretch of coastline. It has also served as lighthouse for both military and civil scopes. Therefore an appropriate intervention of coast protection, respectful of the geomorphological context, can enhance the area, that represents an important site for scientific and humanistic studies