In the frame of a joint Italo–Maltese research project (Costituzione di un Sistema Integrato di Protezione Civile Transfrontaliero Italo– Maltese, SIMIT), financially supported by the European Community, a research plan was developed. Its final purpose is to mitigate natural hazards and to improve the geological and geophysical information in the area between the south–eastern Sicilian coast and the islands of Lampedusa and Malta. Although this region lies on the Sicily channel rift zone, a seismically active domain of the Central Mediterranean, knowledge about seismotectonic, seismic hazard and local seismic response is at present quite poor. In order to improve the awareness of problems linked to natural hazards and with the aim of toning down them, we investigated the island of Lampedusa (Pelagian archipelago). A multidisciplinary approach concerning tectonic, structural, morphologic and lithologic analyses was performed trying to contribute to fill up the information gap on the seismic features of this territory. The results of the geological–structural surveys were used to standardize the evaluation of the seismic hazard and, in particular, to understand the local seismic response of the distinct outcropping terrains and its influence on the dynamic behavior of existing buildings.

peer-reviewed