Massa, Italy

Lead: PRO GE COM SRL (PGC)

Context

Massa is a coastal town of the Tyrrhenian Sea, located in the northern part of Tuscany.​

The altitude of the municipality's territory is mostly slightly above the sea level.​

Massa has 70.000 inhabitants and 9 km of coastal length.​

In a few kilometers there is a great variety of landscapes: from the sandy beaches that have been popular since the last century, to the peaks of the Apuan Alps, a true hiker's paradise. Also, we cannot fail to mention the world-famous marble quarries, particularly present and developed on the western side of the mountain territory, bordering the nearby municipality of Carrara.

image.jpg f=detail_558&h=720&w=1280&$p$f$h$w=d5eb06a

Challenges and risks

  • Coastal erosion in Massa is a serious environmental emergency, which is endangering the stability of tourism and related economic activities
  • One of the most significant risks is floods and, in the hilly and mountainous areas, landslides.
  • Extreme events and heat waves
  • One of the most ambitious challenges of the SCORE project for Massa is to identify new EBA (Ecosystem-Based Adaptation) solutions to combat extreme weather events, such as floods or storm surge. Another important goal is to increase the resilience of the territory by placing monitoring tools at critical points.

Planned Ecosystem Based Approaches (EBAs)

  • Restoring carbon-rich coastal ecosystems to protect the community from storm surges, saltwater intrusion & erosion
  • Testing several coastal protections bioengineering solutions (ongoing intervention by the local governmental body)
mareggiata-a-marina-di-massa-9281.660x368

Live from Massa

  • Lotta all’erosione della costa. Arrivano i ciottoli ’intelligenti’

    Fighting coastal erosion: here come the 'smart' pebbles

    Read article (in Italian)

For more local news about the activities in Massa Coastal City Living Lab, you can visit the following links from the PRO.GE.COM team:

The other CCLLS

SLIGO
Ireland

DUBLIN
Ireland

OEIRAS
Portugal

BENIDORM
Spain

PROVINCE OF BARCELONA / VILLANOVA I LA GELTRÙ
Spain

BASQUE COUNTRY
Spain

GDANSK
Poland 

PIRAN
Slovenia

SAMSUN
Turkey