{"id":522986,"date":"2026-06-15T11:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T09:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/news\/eppur-si-muovono-le-mura-di-pisa-viste-dallo-spazio\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:48:29","slug":"and-yet-they-move-pisas-walls-seen-from-space","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/and-yet-they-move-pisas-walls-seen-from-space\/","title":{"rendered":"And yet they move: Pisa\u2019s walls seen from space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Observing the movement of Pisa\u2019s walls from space: shifts of just a few millimetres per year, imperceptible to the naked eye, yet invaluable for understanding the behaviour of these ancient structures and contributing to their conservation. This unprecedented perspective on Pisa\u2019s cultural heritage comes from <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a study conducted by the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pisa, which used satellite radar imagery to monitor the city walls, built almost nine hundred years ago<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The research analysed more than <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">400 satellite images collected between 2009 and 2023 by the COSMO-SkyMed constellation of the Italian Space Agency<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. The aim was twofold: to assess whether satellite monitoring could provide a reliable tool for detecting movements in historic structures, and to evaluate the condition of Pisa\u2019s city walls. To this end, the movements measured over time were compared with the characteristics of the ground and the palaeogeography of the area.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-522924 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mura_di_Pisa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"756\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mura_di_Pisa.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mura_di_Pisa-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mura_di_Pisa-1024x645.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mura_di_Pisa-768x484.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The analyses showed that<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> the walls do not move uniformly <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">but exhibit different behaviours depending on the degree of ground deformability in different parts of the city. Over a period of twelve years, satellite data <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">detected vertical displacements of up to approximately three centimetres and east\u2013west horizontal movements of up to 25 millimetres in some sections of the walls<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. By contrast, the north-western section surrounding Piazza del Duomo proved to be the most stable part of the entire defensive system. The study of cracks also revealed that many of them are not necessarily attributable to recent movements but appear instead to be linked to the gradual consolidation of the ground caused by the weight of towers and bastions \u2014 massive structures built alongside the medieval walls over the centuries, some of which are still standing today.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe movements of the walls are closely linked both to the deformable nature of Pisa\u2019s ground and to the structure of the wall system itself,\u201d explains Professor<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Anna De Falco<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> of the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pisa. \u201cIn the case of very extensive structures such as historic walls, bridges or aqueducts, where traditional on-site inspections are often complex and costly, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">satellite monitoring makes it possible to collect a large amount of data over time and identify the areas requiring more detailed investigation<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. The technique still needs to be refined and integrated with ground-based measurements, but the results are promising, particularly in view of the launch of new satellite constellations capable of overcoming current limitations.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The study also highlighted that currently available satellite systems are unable to detect all structural movements, particularly those occurring along the north\u2013south axis, and still have margins of error that make the interpretation of very small deformations challenging.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cAt present, satellite monitoring cannot replace traditional techniques, but it can represent a valuable complementary tool for the conservation of cultural heritage,\u201d adds <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Laura Vignali<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PhD candidate at the University of Pisa and first author of the study<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. \u201cThe possibility of observing extensive structures such as city walls over time, detecting even minimal movements on a large scale and in a non-invasive way, opens up new opportunities for identifying the most vulnerable areas and planning targeted inspections and interventions.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The study on Pisa\u2019s walls, entitled <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-3-032-13469-1_183\"><b><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Satellite Observations for Linear Heritage Assets Conservation: The Case of the Ancient City Walls of Pisa, Italy<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, was presented in preliminary form at an international conference dedicated to the monitoring of historical heritage. The initiative forms part of the Extraordinary Plan for the Monitoring and Conservation of Immovable Cultural Heritage, launched by the Italian Ministry of Culture through an implementation agreement involving the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering of the University of Pisa, the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, the Ministry\u2019s General Director for Safety, and the Office of the Special Superintendent for the Areas Affected by the Earthquake of 24 August 2016.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A University of Pisa study opens new perspectives for cultural heritage monitoring through satellite data<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":522925,"menu_order":3,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"tag-notizie-persone":[],"tags_news":[2642,2305],"categorie":[159],"class_list":["post-522986","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tags_news-department-of-civil-and-industrial-engineering","tags_news-research-en","categorie-unipinews-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>And yet they move: Pisa\u2019s walls seen from space ~ UNIPI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/and-yet-they-move-pisas-walls-seen-from-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"And yet 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