Advanced Digital Twins

Studying rockfalls and landslides progression through high-fidelity virtual replicas of alpine slopes, integrating sensors and simulation data.

Safe Territories

Focused on the safety of critical infrastructure, translating complex data into actionable insights for Civil Protection and municipal administrators.

Citizen Science

Resilience is a collective effort: local citizens and stakeholders contribute directly to monitoring, providing real-time observations that can improve predictive models.

Case Studies

The project focuses on developing digital twins of landslides as an answer to the growing demand for risk mitigation measures against climate change at various scales. In particular, it focuses on contexts connected to rockfall/
toppling of large blocks, widespread rockfall and debris flow.

Rockfall/Toppling of large blocks

Torrioni di Rialba

Abbadia Lariana (LC)

The Torrioni di Rialba are four rock pillars, approximately 100 meters high. The “Torrioni” are composed by a sharply edged, highly cemented conglomerate, intersected by four sub-vertical fractures with meter-wide openings that run from the base to the top. At the base, the Triassic unit of the San Giovanni Bianco Formation, known for its weak geo-mechanic behaviour, emerges. The contact between these units is tectonic, marked by a friction breccia that is highly erodible, creating a large niche where more resistant rocks overlay softer lithologies. The pillars overlook the slope and the Lake Como below, with volumes ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 m3. The potential collapse of the pillar would involve a volume of of50,000 m³. It could lead to the interruption of the SS36 route, the Milan-Tirano railway, a power line, a hydroelectric conduit, and the destruction of a power plant, as well as anomalous waves if the landslide reaches the lake.

San Martino

Lecco (LC)

Monte San Martino is part of the Grigna massif in the Orobic Alps. It is characterized by the presence of an impressive cliff with vertical faces as high as 330 m. Several rockfalls related to this rock wall have been reported, the most catastrophic happened during the night of 1969 February, 23. Indeed, the detachment of a rock block of about 15000 m3 from the central section of the cliff destroyed a building and caused seven casualties and three injured. The
rock face is characterized by three systems of discontinuities with orientation N-S and E-W which lead to the formation of many dihedrals with a high degree of instability. At the base of the slope there is a talus, with a thickness up to 10 m, derived from the several rock blocks detached from the overhanging walls.

Widespread rockfall

Via Piani Resinelli

Ballabio (LC)

This road, affected by widespread rockfalls, represents the only existing communication route to reach the Piani Resinelli area. The infrastructure is approximately 8.0 km long and runs along the southern sector of the Grigne Massif. From a geological point of view, the road crosses the geological formations of the Grigne Complex, composed of Triassic sedimentary rocks, specifically highly fractured limestones, marls, and dolomites. The tectonic activity associated with the different phases of the Alpine orogeny, primarily of compressive nature, has generated fault
systems-oriented N-S and E-W, in addition to a high degree of fracturing of the various geological units. In fact, the outcrops along the road show very pervasive discontinuities that, in some cases, cause the detachment of rock blocks.

Monte San Martino – SS36

Lecco and Abbadia Lariana (LC)

this rock wall overlooks the major road SS 36 linking Lecco to Colico. This is a strategic infrastructure since it is one of the most important and busiest ways to reach the Valtellina valley and Switzerland. Several widespread rockfall events have been reported, like the one of the 14th August 2022.

Debris flow

Rotary trail

Lecco (LC)

The area is located near the Rotary trail, a touristic path that connects the municipalities of Vercurago and Lecco. This area is characterized by the presence of numerous small channels that during heavy rains frequently are affected by debris flows. The implementation of a new module in the SMART-SED model would allow the quantification and prediction of debris volumes and runouts.

Meria stream

Mandello del Lario (LC)

Meria is a critical stream from a hydrogeological perspective. Some channelized debris flows have been reported in the past. They are due to the shape of the basin which leads to sudden changes of water level after intense precipitations. The last critical event occurred on 21st June 2024.