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The Mefite site in Ansanto Valley is located in the Rocca San Felice municipality (Province of Avellino, Campania Region, Italy), namely in Irpinia: this region was in ancient times inhabited by Hirpini (the where part of the local tribal system). The site is in the same time inserted in a wide rural landscape preservin0067 still today a high grade of naturality. As regards the geological structures, they are to be quoted at least 55 geosites, object of recent research aimed at identifying Geodiversity in Campania Region. Due to its environmental features, the site of Mefite has been known since antiquity as a site of deadly exhalations and place of manifestation of the eponymous goddess: his name should derive from “meudh,” literally “she who is in the middle”, link between the opposing life/death and heaven/earth. Archeological data witness the presence in V cent. b.C. of a cult referred to the goddess named Mephitis, namely the divinity living in the land of the middle between heaven and infernal word. She was worshipped because of her recognized influence on waters, fertility, and rural life. Probably, in the time of Late Roman Empire, decaying the christian rituals took the place of pagan ones. The long period of silence characterizing Middle Ages was interrupted by the numerous information aquired through the notes reported by common travelers and famous people too. As a matter of fact in the nineteenth century and in the first part of twentieth century, the mephitic phenomena related to the site where associated to the ones taking place in the near Phlegrean area. From this issue derives the theory of a volcanic origin of the place. The existing theory linked to mephitic phenomenology in not universally shared, in the same time we can surely exclude any volcanic origin of the matter but considering the evaluation of some geo- and biochemical elements. The carbon dioxide exceptional amount is related to the emission of some “traps” created during the construction of tectonic Apenninic orogenesis; the weak thermalism of the area and the presence of hydrocarbon are eventually compatible with the explanation given. The very place is a sort of natural lab for studying some endemic species able to survive in extreme survival conditions. Aiming at characterizing the importance and the geotouristic value, the site of Mefite has been evaluated following some appropriate criteria. For instance, making a comparison among different local geosite features using the most widely used assessment methods, through this process is evident that the site of Mefite is absolutely provided of the best qualitative elements in term of scientific, panoramical, and relational potentialities. The opinions so collected suggest some specific policies having the purpose of promoting and preserving the area. In conclusion, this study states that the Mefite is a valuable Geoarcheosite in a major area aiming at respecting and enhancing local traditions and customs to stimulate a kind of a sustainable and responsible geotourism.

The aim of this paper is highlighting the strong vine–wine vocation of the Campania inland (southern Italy) through the description of the physical features of two areas, in which two fine wines are produced: the Guardiolo, from the western sector of the Sannio area, and the Greco di Tufo, from northern Irpinia. Recently, initiatives were developed to promote these territories. They allowed attracting tourists and making these areas well-known. In order to indirectly contribute to achieve this goal, some noticeable features of the local landscape have to be considered. In fact, a careful analysis shows that they are often very important for the quality of vines and wines. Therefore, the knowledge of these features, i.e., geology, geomorphology, and pedology, especially when they are representative of the whole landscape and are attributable to the terroir, can also improve the enhancement of the territory by increasing sensitivity to the geological heritage. In this sense, the geological and geomorphological features occurring in these two wine production areas of the Campania region, which emphasize the local history and the original traditions of vine cultivation and wine production, were considered and described in this paper.

Please click here to download the map associated with this article. Thematic maps of elevation, slope angle, lithology, soil slips and landslides, land-use and stream erosional effects are presented for the description of the geoenvironmental features of the Calaggio Stream catchment area. The Calaggio basin is 314 km2 and is located in the Campanian Apennines (Southern Italy) between the Campania and Puglia regions. The maps were produced within a Geographical Information System (GIS) based on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from cartographic digitization. The maps presented report the main territorial features of the studied area, which will be used for landuse management and mapping of: landslides and susceptibility to water runoff erosion, desertification vulnerability, landscape conservation, Physical Environmental and Territorial Unit determinations (PET Unit sensu Amatucci et al., 2005), etc. In this paper we show, as a final product of various GIS environment operations, the PET U...

In this paper, two simple GIS-based methodologies have been used to assess the landslide susceptibility in a basin located in Southern Italy. The methodologies at issue, based on the spatial distribution of landslides and/or of causal factors, are bivariate statistics-based and expert-based, respectively. The spatial distribution of both the landslides and the causal factors has been investigated by integrating pre-existing and original data, which have been processed using ArcView GIS 3.2 software. The obtained results, consisting of landslide susceptibility maps have been compared and discussed. The bivariate statistics-based method has provided the most satisfying results. On the contrary, the expert-based method has provided a classification of the study area in terms of landslide susceptibility which does not completely fit with the surveyed spatial distribution of the landslides.