ARCHAEOSAFE: first transnational meeting in Lecce to protect coastal

ARCHAEOSAFE: first transnational meeting in Lecce to protect coastal and underwater heritage

On 24 April 2026 the Sala della Grottesca at the University of Salento hosted the first Transnational Monitoring Meeting of ARCHAEOSAFE (Archaeological Safety and Risk Management for Coastal and Underwater Heritage), funded by the Interreg IPA South Adriatic 2021-2027 programme.

The meeting brought together the six consortium partners from Italy, Montenegro and Albania, together with representatives of the Managing Authority and the Joint Secretariat, to review progress and plan upcoming activities.

• Goal: develop shared tools for monitoring and proactive response to climate risks affecting coastal and underwater archaeological sites.
• Tools: ER4CSS (Emergency Response ICT System for Cultural Sites’ Safeguarding), integrating BIM-GIS, environmental simulation models and an early-warning system.
• Expected outcome: simulations and data to feed the JER-CS Plan, a joint emergency response plan for pilot sites.

The project has a total budget of €1,154,076.87 (including €943,290.18 EU IPA III co-financing) and a planned duration of 30 months, with an expected end in December 2027. Partners include CMCC (Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change), IMTM Montenegro, the Municipality of Kotor, the ICAA (International Centre for Albanian Archaeology) and the Fondazione Turismo e Cultura Molise; the lead partner is the University of Salento.

During the meeting partners presented initial climate risk analyses for pilot sites — from the Archaeological Park of Saturo and the Submerged Sarcophagi of the King in Apulia to the Walls of Kotor in Montenegro and the Archaeological Park of Orikum in Albania — and aligned communication strategies and next steps.

Source: University of Salento - Institutional Communication Office