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MUR
On-site and virtual open WORKSHOP / PhD SCHOOL
SLOPE INSTABILITY IN UNSATURATED SOILS AND NATURE-BASED MITIGATION MEASURES
ORGANIZATION
The workshop, organized by the Universities of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Naples Federico II, Rome Tor Vergata, Salerno, and Trento, is the concluding event showing the final results of two research projects.
Renowned experts from outside the research group are invited to speak in order to foster discussion on the research topic.
VENUE
The event will be held on-site at the Faculty of Engineering in Naples, at Piazzale Tecchio 80 (Aula Scipione Bobbio, first floor), and will be open to scholars attending online, who will be able to participate actively.
To attend the event, please fill out the pre-registration form at the bottom of this page.
SCIENTIFIC AND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Michele Calvello
Università di Salerno
Francesca Casini
Università di Roma Tor Vergata
Luca Comegna
Università della Campania L. Vanvitelli
Giuseppe Pedone
Università di Trento
Marianna Pirone
Università di Napoli Federico II
Gianfranco Urciuoli
Università di Napoli Federico II
TOPICS
The theme of the workshop deals with the response of steep slopes in unsaturated soils to weather forcing, with special focus on nature-based solutions as measures to mitigate the risk of rainfall-induced landslides.
The event will feature the participation of invited international renowned experts coming from all over the world. Moreover, the final results of two research projects will be shown.
Two discussion sessions aimed to involve all the attendants, both on-site and on-line, will be also included.
The workshop is open to people working in the fields of landslides.
PROGRAMME
February, 26, 2026
14:30 Institutional greetings
14:45 Opening lecture: A. Tarantino (Univ. of Strathclyde). Integrated Monitoring of Soil, Plant, and Atmosphere to Investigate Slope–Climate Interactions
Session I - SLOPE INSTABILITY IN UNSATURATED SOILS (Chair: A. Flora, Univ. di Napoli Federico II)
15:30 M. Pirone (Univ. di Napoli Federico II). Presentation of the PRIN project: “PROMISE”
15:35 G. Vitiello (Univ. di Napoli Federico II). Hydro-Mechanical Behaviour of Unsaturated Pyroclastic Soils: Laboratory Experimental Investigation
15:55 G. D’Alessio (Univ. di Roma Tor Vergata). Hydro-Mechanical Behaviour of Reconstituted Pyroclastic Soils: From Saturated to Unsaturated Conditions
16:15 Coffee Break
16:35 M. Pirone (Univ. di Napoli Federico II). Field Monitoring and Site Investigations for the Design and Execution of Full-Scale Tests
16:55 G. Pedone (Univ. di Trento). Numerical Modelling of Slope–Atmosphere Interaction: Challenges and Perspectives
17:15 Keynote lecture: J. Vaunat (Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya). Landslide triggering in unsaturated soils under atmospheric forcing
18:00-18:45 DISCUSSION SESSION WITH REMOTE PARTICIPATION (Chair: L. Picarelli, Former Prof. of Soil Mechanics and Slope Stability, Univ. della Campania L. Vanvitelli)
19:00 Social drink (free)
February, 27, 2026
Session II - NATURE-BASED MITIGATION MEASURES (Chair: M. Cecconi, Univ. di Perugia)
09:10 G. Urciuoli (Univ. di Napoli Federico II). Presentation of the PRIN PNRR project: “Green Land”
09:15 L. Comegna (Univ. della Campania L. Vanvitelli). Test site on a vegetated pyroclastic slope: characteristics of soils and vegetation
09:35 M. Calvello (Univ. di Salerno). Test site on a vegetated pyroclastic slope: hydrogeological monitoring results
09:55 G. Sequino (Univ. della Campania L. Vanvitelli/Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change). Quantitative interpretation of the vegetation's role from a test site
10:15 Invited speaker: V. Tagarelli (Politecnico di Bari). The soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction for nature-based landslide mitigation risk in a clayey slope
10:35 Invited speaker: F. Anselmucci (Univ. of Twente). Bioengineering the vadose zone: how roots and fibers control soil hydraulics and pore structure
10:55 Coffee Break
11:15 Keynote lecture: E. Romero (Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya). Root–unsaturated soil interactions as a basis for vegetation-based approaches
12:00-12:45 DISCUSSION SESSION WITH REMOTE PARTICIPATION (Chair: F. Cotecchia, Politecnico di Bari)
12:45-13:15 CLOSURE
13:45 Social lunch (to be paid)
Registration form*
Participation, whether in person or online, is free of charge.
Interested attendees will also be able to join the discussion remotely during the dedicated sessions. All participants are warmly encouraged to take an active role.
*Please note that an automated confirmation will not be sent immediately upon submission.
The Organizing Committee will send a formal registration confirmation email within 48 hours.
You are kindly invited to check whether this confirmation may have been received in your spam folder.
Contact : openworkshop2026@gmail.com
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