TABULA RASA - coastal erosion in Sicily.
In the last 50 years in Italy, eroding shorelines have tripled: it is like losing an average of 23 metres of beach depth for all 1,750 km of eroding coastline.
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The phenomenon is most widespread in southern Italy, especially in Sicily, where the province most affected is Agrigento. Between San Leone and Eraclea Minoa, in fact, the natural beaches have been literally obliterated and in the luckiest cases reduced to short strips of sand and debris, while new beaches have been built by building artificial barriers and groynes along the coast. Over the last 20 years, Agrigento has lost 42% of its beaches, meaning that out of 16 km of coastline, 9 km have been declared unsuitable for swimming due to the danger of landslides.
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Coastal erosion is the direct and indirect result of alterations in the sediment cycle, caused by natural but above all anthropic causes. The reduced supply of sediment to the sea by rivers has led to the consequent instability of the sandy shores, resulting in a progressive retreat of the beaches to the point of threatening the safety of inhabited areas and infrastructures.