Geological and archaeological heritage in the Mediterranean coasts: Proposal and quantitative assessment of new geosites in SW Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

The south-western Sardinian coast (Italy), in the sector between the small village of Chia (Domus de Maria) and the Piscinnì locality (Teulada), is one of the most interesting of the island, being characterized by a wide geodiversity, a complex history testified by several archaeological sites, rich ecosystems, and beautiful landscapes. This area is already famous as a seaside resort, but its rich geological heritage is totally unrecognized and the educational and touristic potential of its archaeological sites is widely undervalued. In this paper, we propose an itinerary in seven stages, each of which selected considering mainly its geology (geodiversity, scientific relevance of the geological features, and educational potential), and also the additional values as the presence of archaeological sites and/or of ecological diversity and/or touristic attractions. The aim of this work is to propose the study area as a geotrail since it represents a valuable geological (and not only) heritage to be protected, preserved, and valorized in the broadest meaning of the word. The following sites have been selected: Chia tower hill, showing interesting geological features and the Punic-Roman archaeological site of Bithia; Campana and Su Giudeu beaches with their dune system and the adjacent wetlands; Settiballas, near to the Chia-Laguna resort displaying a significant geological contact; Capo Spartivento rias and cliffs; Tuerredda beach and sand dunes; Capo Malfatano, a panoramic promontory made up of 460 million years old metamorphic rocks; and Piscinnì area, where a beautiful beach and a wide Punic/Roman sandstone quarry can be observed. In addition, the most panoramic points are overlooked by Spanish towers built during the 16th to 17th century. The study area is described from geological and archaeological points of view, after a detailed field survey, the petrographic characterization of the main rocks, and an overview of the scientific literature. The quantitative assessment of the geosite values has been also performed, revealing the high potential for scientific, educational, and touristic purposes. The main concerns related to the preservation and valorization of this geosite are also addressed. Finally, a discussion on the geosite assessment methods is proposed to contribute to the scientific literature on the geoheritage. The site-by-site description is reported at the end of the paper to be used as a field guide.

Integrating Cultural Sites into the Sesia Val Grande UNESCO Global Geopark (North-West Italy): Methodologies for Monitoring and Enhancing Cultural Heritage

“…Interestingly, in good agreement with the results found in previous studies in comparable areas [64][65][66][67][68], there is no presence of a strict correlation among the scientific value and other values of the geosites; a geosite with a high scientific value could have low educational and touristic values, and vice versa. 1.…”

“…Although the cultural value of geosites and geoparks is mentioned in some geoheritage studies [42,44,66,70,71], quantitative assessment strategies have focused mostly on geosites and, to our knowledge, never on cultural sites. For this reason, we used the quantitative evaluation method proposed by Brilha to assess the geosites [7] and modified the criteria within the method to assess the cultural sites.…”

The Geoheritage Potential of the South-East Pałuki (Western Poland) to Promote Geotourism

“…The authoresses followed known examples from the literature (e.g. Pereira et al, 2007;Kubalíková, 2013;Brilha, 2016;Górska-Zabielska et al, 2019;Saurabh et al, 2021;Fancello et al, 2022;Marescotti et al, 2022). However, due to the specificity of the research area, they modified these parameters in relation to the characteristics and uniqueness of geosites in the young glacial relief which is abundant in the south-eastern part of Pałuki (see Sisto et al, 2020).…”

Geosite Assessment and Communication: A Review

“…Fancello et al [97] have focused their work on a stretch of coastline along the southwestern side of the Gulf of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. The authors selected seven geosites and assessed them on the basis of at least three of the following parameters: scientific value, educational value, aesthetic value, accessibility of the sites, and proximity to touristic facilities.…”