Our opinions, kept separate from the facts.

Atri covers about 9,180 hectares, most of it countryside. When an autumn of heavy rain arrives in a territory like this, the first question is not "how do we protect ourselves from the water", it is "where does the water go". If we do not decide it, with a drainage ditch, a ditch, a clear culvert, the slope decides. That is why our proposal is a single one, and we repeat it: more drainage ditches, wherever there is a sloping field, and make them now, not in November.

Why this deadline

Three documented things, put in a row.

• The summer was dry. The Region lists Abruzzo among the Italian areas in extreme drought. The grape harvest began on 3 August, about ten days early.
• The Calanchi burned. On 30-31 August a fire affected the Reserve. Cause and extent do not appear in any official source we were able to consult, and we do not state them.
• Seasonal models lean towards a rainy autumn. ECMWF and Copernicus indicate, for October-December, a higher probability of above-average rain over the Mediterranean, with above-average temperatures. This is a probabilistic trend: it is not a forecast for Atri and it does not say how much rain will fall or where.

The link between these three things is our own hypothesis, not a study of Atri. But it is the hypothesis slope specialists commonly make after a fire: soil without vegetation, hardened by the dry spell and with ash on the surface, absorbs less, and if the rain is intense the water runs over it instead of entering, gains speed, carries soil and debris with it and dumps them into ditches, onto roads and into watercourses. The risk is decided in the first heavy rains, because that is when the soil is most exposed. Not knowing whether it will happen is no reason to wait and see.

Why Atri in particular

From our data, which are official maps and not field measurements:

• about 2,255 hectares out of 9,180 are mapped as landslide areas in regional inventories, and 690 hectares are badlands. Note: these are mapped areas, not necessarily active today;
• of about 400 km of roads and tracks in the municipality (from OpenStreetMap), 49 km cross areas mapped as landslide-prone. Of these, 26 km are tracks and dirt roads: the routes used to reach the fields;
• the olive groves and vineyards mapped by the regional land-use map are about 735 and 248 hectares;
• the Casoli landslide dates from 2017, the works were handed over on 30 May 2024 and in September 2026 are still under way (record 2026/0001506). The register also shows costs incurred "to deal with the flood emergency of November 2017" and, on 29 September, a commitment of 20,481.06 euros of housing aid for the bad weather of January 2017 (record 2026/0001575). The territory is not new to these events.

How it works, concretely

Water falling on a sloping field has three destinies: it soaks in, evaporates or runs off. If the soil is saturated, compacted or bare, the share that runs off grows. The longer it runs over an uninterrupted stretch, the faster it goes and the more it cuts: a small furrow becomes a rivulet, then an erosion gully.

A drainage ditch (or water furrow) breaks that length. It collects the water from one stretch of field and carries it sideways, towards a ditch, before it gains strength. Three things to know:

• its slope must be gentle: if it is too steep the water runs and cuts the ditch itself;
• it must end in a ditch, or a channel that can take it, not in the middle of a field nor on the edge of a scarp: a drainage ditch that ends nowhere concentrates the water at one point and makes it give way;
• it must be kept clear: a drainage ditch blocked by stubble, soil or leaves does not work, and sometimes makes things worse.

Above fields, where water arrives from a slope, a guard ditch is needed to intercept it. Along roads, drains, ditches and culverts must be clear: most damage from "water crossing the road" begins with a culvert blocked by reeds, soil and rubbish, not with an exceptional rain.

Other general measures for growers: on hills, grass between the rows or minimal tillage reduces erosion; in an olive grove, peacock-eye disease spreads with humidity and mild temperatures and copper, in organic farming, goes on before the expected rains; for the olive harvest, if the autumn is rainy it is better to stagger it and not wait for the last moment.

These are general indications, not agronomic advice: slope, soil and crop change the right work, and an agronomist or a neighbour who has known the land all their life is worth more than this page.

Whose job it is

It depends on who owns the work. Fields and the drainage ditches inside them belong to their owners. Roadside ditches may belong to the Municipality, the Province, ANAS or the adjoining owners; streams fall to other bodies. If it is unclear whose ditch it is, report it on the map: it is for this too, and if the competent body is missing the report remains as a record.

What we ask the Municipality

We ask in writing, as a request and not an accusation. We did not find in the register recent records on the cleaning of ditches and the minor drainage network: that does not mean it is not done, it means we do not see it. It would help to know:

1. who cleans the ditches and culverts that fall to the Municipality, when the last intervention was done and at what cost;

2. what was assessed for the areas downhill of the Calanchi after the fire, and whether there is a plan for the areas that water and debris could reach (the COC was closed on 21 September, record 2026/0001518);

3. where the Casoli works stand and when they are expected to end.

We will publish the replies in full.

Staying informed

Official hydrogeological alerts are on the Abruzzo Region's AllarMeteo site (allarmeteo.regione.abruzzo.it): green, yellow, orange and red codes, by alert zone. It should be checked which zone Atri falls in. With an orange or red alert: no roads near ditches and landslide slopes, underpasses, fords or cellars. For immediate danger: 112.

A drainage ditch costs little and takes an afternoon. A collapsed field, a blown culvert, a cut road do not. In a municipality made almost entirely of countryside, keeping these things in mind should be among the first.

Lately the mayor has twice posted about porchetta on Facebook. So allow me to turn my attention to something of little consequence too: the trees of Atri.

I have read the documents obtained through the freedom-of-information request on the new Mambelli-Barnabei middle school. Here is what they show, with sources.

What the plans provide for

• The executive design and the variation provide for the removal of 23 trees: 14 up to 10 metres tall, 9 between 10 and 16.
• A survey by the agronomist the Municipality hired, summarised in the technical report, describes them as mature conifers with low vigour and no legal protection. I have not seen the survey itself.
• The Lebanon cedar in piazza Cherubini was saved: the building was moved about 7 metres (certified emails of 16 and 17 October 2024). That is to their credit, and I say so gladly.
• 11 new plantings are planned: 8 maples along viale Umberto I and 3 prunus in the largo Cherubini car park. The technical report mentions 8; the design drawing and the bill of quantities say 11.
• Another 35 trees are «at the expense of the Municipal Administration, in other public areas». It does not say which areas, or when.

What the works accounts show

• The first progress statement (works up to 19 November 2025) records 9 felled trees: 5 up to 10 metres, 4 between 10 and 16. The number does not change through the sixth statement, the latest I have.
• I do not know when they were cut.
• For the other 14 trees on the list, there is no record of whether they were felled or kept.
• Planting items recorded up to the sixth statement: none. They may be paid for by the Municipality outside the contract; if so, the Municipality will say so.

What I saw myself

The planting was done, as far as I could tell, on 24 September, in small numbers, in the car park of the former Mambelli school, on via Finocchi. This is my own observation, not something from the documents. In the design, the trees indicated for the car parks are at largo Cherubini and on viale Umberto I, not here.

On timing: trees are usually planted between late autumn and early spring, when they are dormant. Late September is early: the roots are few and drought bites. According to ERA5 data for Atri (a model, not a local station), September 2026 was the warmest since 1950 (22.8 °C against a 1991-2020 norm of 19.9 °C, level with 2011) and drier than normal (31 mm against 74). The heavy heat came mostly in the first days; on the 24th the high was around 24 °C. It also rained on the 11th-12th and the 17th-19th, and then on the 25th, the day after. I am not saying it was a mistake: I am saying I cannot find written down how the trees will be looked after.

Questions for the Municipality

• How many trees have been felled in all, and on which dates?
• How many trees have been planted, of what species, where and when?
• Where and when will the other 35 be planted?
• Who waters them, how often, and for how long?

If the Municipality replies, I will publish the reply in full.

Trees are not to be touched. But they do need watering.

An article in favour of the Atri-Pineto merger was published on te24.it. We are not naming its author: what matters here is what the text claims, not who wrote it. We check each claim in turn.

What the article claims

• Nobody will pay Atri's debts: not Atri's residents, not Pineto's either.
• The merger would bring state funding of up to €2 million a year, which over time could add up to tens of millions.
• The merger would bring “practically only advantages”.
• Atri-Pineto would be the fifth-largest municipality in Abruzzo by area, even bigger than the new Pescara.

The surface-area figures: here the article is right

We checked the actual ranking of Abruzzo municipalities by surface area (ISTAT data, tuttitalia.it). The fifth place and the comparison with the new Pescara are both correct.

One detail worth keeping in mind: this jump in the ranking is almost entirely thanks to the land Atri already brings on its own. Atri alone already ranks 12th in Abruzzo with 92.18 km²; Pineto adds 38.11 km².

The debt question: the law says otherwise

The article states that “nobody will have to pay anyone's debts”. We found no rule that guarantees this. The Municipality of Atri is currently under a multi-year financial rebalancing plan (PRFP): €9,546,941.98 of liabilities to be paid off over 15 years, approved by the City Council in 2025. Article 15 of the TUEL provides that the new municipality created by a merger takes over by law all the legal rights and obligations of the municipalities that cease to exist, debts included. A merger creates a single budget: the annual instalments to cover the deficit (€885,679.96 in 2027, according to Atri's DUP) would be paid from the revenues of the single municipality, including those generated in Pineto. We found no official document providing for any mechanism to isolate Atri's deficit from the joint budget.

The state contribution: a ceiling, not yet a figure

The €2 million a year mentioned in the article is real: it is the maximum ceiling the law sets for mergers under 100,000 inhabitants, for up to 17 years. But it is a theoretical ceiling. The real amount depends on 60% of the state transfers Atri and Pineto received in 2010 — a figure that, as of today, neither administration has published. Until that number is certified, talk of “tens of millions” remains a projection, not an established fact.

“Practically only advantages”? Something is missing from the ledger

The official documents we checked also point to costs the article doesn't mention:

• Political representation shrinks: from 2 mayors and 32 councillors (16 per municipality) to 1 mayor and 16 councillors in total.
• Taxes and fees (property tax, waste tax, local income tax surcharge, fees, the single duty...) can stay different between the two territories for only 5 years (Law 56/2014): after that, they must be harmonised.
• Atri's PRFP, as noted above, still falls on the new municipality regardless.

The point the article doesn't address: who brings what

There's an imbalance the article leaves out of its tables: Atri and Pineto pull in opposite directions on the two figures that matter most in a merger.

In plain terms: the jump to 5th place by surface area is mostly thanks to the land Atri already brings on its own. The greater political weight in any joint Council, counted by residents rather than square kilometres, would instead go to Pineto: no legal threshold guarantees Atri representation proportional to the land it brings to the table.

In short

The te24.it article is right about the surface-area figures. It is wrong, or at least jumps to a conclusion the documents don't yet support, about who will pay Atri's debts, about how much the state contribution is really worth, and about the merger bringing “practically only advantages”. And it doesn't address at all the imbalance between territory and population that, in any single municipality, will decide who has more say on the Council.

One last thing, unrelated to the article: our own dossier also looked at an alternative, inland scenario (Atri together with Cellino Attanasio, Montefino and Castilenti). We've updated it with a figure worth knowing: at 178.51 km², that hypothetical municipality would be the second-largest in Abruzzo, after L'Aquila alone and ahead of Teramo — even more than the Atri-Pineto scenario. The detail, with sources, is in the linked dossier below.

A pothole nobody fixes. A street lamp that has been out for weeks. A broken pavement, a crumbling wall, dumped rubbish.

From today you can put them on the OpenCivTech map, so they stay visible to everyone.

What it's for

• Local transparency: it brings the area's problems together in a single public place, showing location, date added and resolution status.
• Lasting memory: a complaint at the bar is forgotten; a geolocated, dated point stays on record until it's fixed.

Why you need to register

To submit a report you need a free account (name and email). This filter is there only to prevent spam or false content.

• Privacy guaranteed: your name does not appear on the map (only the problem is visible) and your email address is not passed to third parties or used for advertising.
• Free to browse: you don't need to register to explore and follow the map.

How to use it in 4 steps

• Go to the dedicated platform.
• Log in or create an account in a minute.
• Tap the exact spot of the problem on the interactive map.
• Fill in a short title (e.g. "Pothole in via...") and a clear description, then press Send report.

What happens next

• Moderation: before publication, every report is checked by an editor to remove duplicates and spam (so it is not visible immediately).
• Status update: when the work is done, the report moves to "Resolved". The List view lets you filter and search all reports.

Important rules

• Emergencies: this tool does not replace emergency numbers. For immediate danger call 112, the local police or the Municipality.
• Other people's privacy: describe only the problem, not people (avoid names, number plates or private individuals' data, or the report won't be published).

We know Atri because we live here. Let's make the problems visible.

In 2013, speaking from a stage, I said something simple: Atri lacks hotels and we have many bed and breakfasts, but each works on its own and so they can't capture the big tourist flows. We need a network.

The idea was, and is, just one: a network of B&Bs working together, to attend trade fairs with a meaningful number of beds and bring groups to Atri, not scattered individual travellers. Because people who stay the night spend more than those who only visit. And since a new hotel is almost impossible, we start from the resources we already have.

13 years have passed. Words spoken from a stage carry weight, and I've decided to really give it a go.

Today I would add a shared showcase with rotating order, favouring no one. But it's an idea to discuss with the people who work in the sector every day.

Nothing is decided: it's an idea to build together.

• Do you run a B&B, a farm stay or a holiday home in Atri? Write I'M IN in the comments.
• Are you a guest, an association, an operator? Tell me what's needed to bring more people here and make them stay.
• Think it's a bad idea? Say so: I need that as much as a yes.

IMPORTANT: to leave me your contact details, use a private message, not the comments.

Friday evening you arrive in town. The stones of the old centre are still warm from the sun. You have dinner with a dish that has a touch of liquorice in it, and you realise the weekend has begun.

Saturday morning you walk on the Calanchi badlands with a guide, for about an hour. The pale clay opens into deep furrows, and under your feet grows a plant you wouldn't notice at first: Glycyrrhiza glabra. It is the root that gives Atri its most famous black. You stop, look at it, and for the first time understand where it comes from.

Saturday afternoon you walk into a room in the old centre. On screen, and in printed reproductions, the documents appear: a parchment from 1433 with the plant's old name, the Dominican friars who worked it, black-and-white photographs of men and women working in an Atri factory in the 1930s. Then a short video, eight or ten minutes long, shows how the root is processed. You are six hundred years later, and it feels like yesterday.

Sunday morning you go to the factory. Not a museum of still objects: a place where liquorice is still made. You see the heat, the movement, the hands at work. On set days, with the people who make it.

And at the end you stop by the shop. You taste, you choose, you take home a piece of Atri in a paper bag. It's not a souvenir: it's the same liquorice you saw being made.

How it would work

The liquorice museum wouldn't need a big building. It would be a trail spread over five stops: the root on the Calanchi, the documents, the processing, the factory, the shop. One ticket, one online booking.

It would cost little, because it uses places that already exist. The factory that still produces is the strong point: the museum doesn't preserve a finished past, it shows a product that is still made. It sits alongside a digital archive (the RIABITA project already plans one) and can be sold together with Atri's accommodation, as a two-night package with all the stops and a free product.

What is really needed

Something that has been missing so far: a date, a person in charge and a number of visitors to report.

And the actual museum?

The liquorice museum already exists on paper: it appears in the title of works funded with European money. What really happened is in the dossier linked below.

This is an OpenCivTech proposal, not an approved project. Costs are orders of magnitude to be checked with quotes. The people and businesses mentioned are hypotheses until there is a written agreement. The images in the video are AI-generated.

Would you come and do a trail like this? Tell us in the comments. And if you run accommodation in Atri, let us know if you want to join the network.

I tried to put together several public datasets and turn them into something anyone can look up on a map.

The result, in my view, deserves attention.

In the municipality of Atri about 2,255 hectares of land are mapped as landslide areas: about 25% of the municipal territory.

Out of about 400 km of roads analysed, 49 km cross areas mapped as landslides.

If we widen the view to a 50-metre strip around the roads, we get 111.9 km close to one of these areas.

But careful: this does NOT mean that 49 km of roads are sliding.

It means something much simpler: those roads cross land that the available maps have already classified as affected by landslide phenomena. Many of the recorded landslides may be old or dormant.

Which roads?

Among those with the most kilometres inside mapped areas:

• Borea San Domenico — 2.31 km
• SS553 — 1.68 km
• Via San Massimiliano Kolbe — 1.15 km
• Strada delle Terme — 1.12 km
• Strada Provinciale 30 — 1.05 km
• Via Fonte Canale — 0.81 km
• Strada Comunale Cagno — 0.81 km

And here comes the part I find most interesting.

And when it rains?

I've also added to the map a comparison between the rain of the last few hours and a scientific threshold used in studies of rainfall associated with triggering landslides in Abruzzo.

Put simply: the system checks how much rain has fallen in the last 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours and compares it with these thresholds.

At the moment recent rainfall is below the statistical thresholds we are using.

For example, the last 24 hours show 4.4 mm of rain, against a statistical threshold of about 25 mm.

Here too it's essential to understand the meaning: exceeding a threshold does not mean a landslide will happen. It only means that rain of that duration and intensity has been statistically associated with landslides in our region.

On the map you can look road by road

I split the roads into 100-metre sections and cross-checked several factors: recorded landslide areas, slope, badlands and erosion.

Sources include IFFI/ISPRA data, the Abruzzo Region's geomorphological maps, the Copernicus terrain model and OpenStreetMap.

One thing must be clear

This is a civic experiment based on public data.

It is not an alert system.

It does not predict landslides.

It does not say a road is dangerous.

For alerts and to know what to do, refer only to official communications from Civil Protection, the Municipality and AllarMeteo Abruzzo.

This tool tries to do something else: take public data that is hard to read and make it accessible to everyone.

And it can become more useful with the help of those who travel the area every day.

Have you seen subsidence, a landslide or a stretch of road that needs checking?

Report it with the location and, if possible, a photo.

It also serves a very practical purpose: finding out whether the map really matches what happens on the ground.

Open the map, zoom in on your area and see what it shows.

Public data exists. The point is to make it understandable and usable.