Abstract
A room in the Archaeological Museum of Villa Arbusto (Lacco Ameno, Ischia) was set up to house rocks and fossils collected by the renowned archaeologist Giorgio Buchner during his excavation activity on the Island of Ischia. The collection is witness to a long multidisciplinary research activity that saw archaeological studies at the center of volcanological, pedological and palaeoenvironmental researches, aimed at reconstructing the archaeological contexts in the complex geological dynamics of the island. In fact, during the different phases of colonization recorded on the island, the Ischia volcanoes were very active and produced explosive and effusive eruptions, accompanied by a strong geological dynamics that included earthquakes, landslides (even gigantic ones), rapid ground uplift and strong hydrothermal activity. In the room, the samples on display “tell” the evolution of the island and its dynamics in four windows and a chest of drawers, where there is an exposition of the products of the various eruptions, from the oldest to the most recent, sedimentary rocks and the collection of macro and microfossils found in marine sediments, displaced at variable altitudes by the rapid volcano-tectonic deformations that characterize the island. A series of panels and monitors accompany the visitor along a path that, starting from the geological evolution of the island, passes through the relationship between humans and the volcano, the main volcanic phenomena and the reconstruction of an archaeological excavation of exceptional value, where it is possible to see the strong interaction between primary and secondary volcanic phenomena and a human settlement of the first Greek colony in the west: Pithecusae. The exhibition was designed with the purpose of educating the visitors and the local population about the natural history of the island and its volcanoes, and their impact on the human life through time.
Highlights
The diffusion of knowledge about natural hazards is by far one of the most powerful tools of risk mitigation for the populations of the exposed areas
The long process of museum realization was completed when, having overcome all the bureaucratic obstacles, the administration of the city of Lacco Ameno managed to purchase the complex of Villa Arbusto (Figure 3)
A first attempt in this direction had already been made in 1948, when a geological and archaeological museum of Ischia was opened for a short time [Buchner and Rittmann, 1948]
Summary
The diffusion of knowledge about natural hazards is by far one of the most powerful tools of risk mitigation for the populations of the exposed areas. In compliance with the classic exhibition mode of the Archaeological Museum, the new geological section implements the wonderful Buchner’s collections of rocks and fossils, with dioramas, computer graphic reconstructions and HD documentaries, whit the aim of educating the visitors and the local population about the natural history of the island and its volcanoes, and their impact on the human life through time. As it was conceived, the geological section of the museum can be considered as a gateway to the visit and knowledge of the island and its spectacular natural heritage, which makes the island itself an open book on almost all the volcanic and related phenomena present in nature
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