The 1980 earthquake highlighted the fragility of the seismic monitoring system in Basilicata: there was no monitoring station and the region was not included in the national seismic network. From the post-earthquake period right up to the present day, the Centre for Integrated Geomorphology of the Mediterranean Area (CGIAM) has made a significant contribution to earthquake research and to the advancement of methodologies and techniques for monitoring the Lucanian region.
Under the guidance of Maurizio Leggeri, it proposed the reclassification of seismic zones and, thanks to collaboration with the then National Institute of Geophysics (now INGV), established the region’s first seismometer network, which represented a complete innovation and remained operational for nine years, from 1990 to 1999.
Since 2024, the Centre has been implementing a project to modernise and upgrade the network’s technology and is working daily to establish the Potenza Urban Seismic Observatory (OSU-PZ), a pioneering initiative in Italy.
Thanks to this project, the regional capital – situated in one of the areas of highest seismic risk in the southern Apennines – is one of the very few places in Italy to have a seismic observatory, alongside Catania, Campi Flegrei, Messina and Reggio Calabria.
The installation of a network of sensors in an urban setting will enable earthquakes to be monitored in real time. The data collected will allow planners, organisations and institutions to identify the most vulnerable areas, plan specific mitigation measures and raise public awareness of seismic risk.
The Observatory will provide a better understanding of ‘how the city vibrates’, thereby contributing to the safety of infrastructure and the population.
