Geodata in Ports: the New ISPRA Mapping of Italian Port Infrastructure
ISPRA Publishes Two New GeoDBs
Ports already occupied about 260 km of coastline in 2006, representing 5% of Italy’s entire low-lying coastline; by 2020, this figure had increased by 15 km, marking a 5% rise compared to 2006. The perspective changes when considering linear development—the total length of structures, piers, quays, and jetties of all port facilities—which reached 2,510 km in 2020, 20% more than what was recorded in 2006.
“We know what we can measure,” wrote Galileo Galilei, introducing the scientific method as we know it today. In response to pressing and continuous coastal erosion phenomena, as well as extraordinary events such as the recent Cyclone Harry, the agencies and institutions responsible for the safety and general management of coastal areas are taking action to monitor and measure the transformations occurring along the coastline, whether caused by natural processes or as a consequence of human activities.
For years, ISPRA has been developing and publishing national information layers with high-definition mapping of all the natural and artificial elements that characterize coastal systems. Starting from these maps—developed and integrated with sector publications, other historical cartographic references, and scientific surveys—two new GeoDBs are now being presented:
- Maritime Works Framework (AOM – Assetto Opere Marittime): including the digitization and characterization of all structures that can be defined, even partially, as port works, with their specific types, functions, usage conditions, historical development, ISTAT references, ownership by territorial authorities or public administrations, and declared or estimated berths.
- Port Transformation Areas (ATP – Aree di Trasformazione Portuali): including the digitization and characterization of polygons of Obstruction (occupation of seabed areas), Excavation (occupation of coastal land), and Alteration (modification of natural conditions within basins) for all coastal port works compared to their pre-construction state.
Maria Alessandra Gallone, President of ISPRA and SNPA, stated:
“With the creation of the new GeoDBs dedicated to Italian port infrastructure, ISPRA is taking a strategic step toward increasingly integrated and up-to-date knowledge of our coastal territory. Having homogeneous, interoperable, and constantly updated databases means strengthening the ability of institutions to plan, monitor, and intervene effectively and efficiently. Ports represent crucial hubs for the country’s economic development, but they are also complex ecosystems that require a balance between growth and environmental protection. For this reason, tools such as these GeoDBs are essential to support sustainable port management, capable of combining competitiveness, safety, and the safeguarding of natural resources.ISPRA will continue to invest in knowledge and innovation, putting data at the service of public policies for infrastructure development and the protection of our coastal heritage.”
Giordano Giorgi, Director of the National Coasts Centre at ISPRA, added:
“The digitization and characterization of all port infrastructures and port transformation areas highlight how ports are among the largest human-made constructions along the Italian coastline—and indeed among the largest nationwide—despite being among the least understood as a whole, due to the extreme variety of their functions and dimensions and their constant tendency to expand both in size and number.
A significant part of Italy’s economy and future development depends on the sea and its access points. Commercial exchanges, shipbuilding activities, nautical tourism, and fishing all rely fundamentally on port infrastructure. The growth of the blue economy involves port development not only along an already highly urbanized coastline, but also in areas extending toward the sea or inland, adding complexity and functions to existing structures.
All of this requires adequate and updated digital tools to enable more effective and timely governance, both in terms of planning and implementation.”
In Italy, the transformations directly linked to port construction—such as seabed occupation, coastal land use, piers, excavated areas, and port basins—cover a surface area twice as large as the total of all Italian beaches combined, not including the wider coastal and marine areas altered by significant and widespread infrastructure across the national coastline.
The rapid development of port areas has created the need for a new law to reorganize infrastructure governance, with the aim of strategically harmonizing the sixteen Port System Authorities, while several initiatives are also underway to create synergies for private tourist marinas.
Outside these two groups of infrastructure remain hundreds of ports, small harbors, and microstructures with different management frameworks, functions, and challenges, yet with significant impacts on human activities and the environment, influencing the communities that live in or visit coastal territories.