Overview
- The natural calcarenite arch at Torre Sant’Andrea near Melendugno in Puglia fell after days of heavy rain, high winds and rough seas.
- Mayor Maurizio Cisternino called the loss “a very hard blow” to the area’s image and tourism, noting that “nature has taken back what it created.”
- Local leaders say a €4.5 million erosion-prevention plan proposed in 2024 was not funded, leaving the coastline exposed.
- Reporters and scientists link the collapse to intensifying Mediterranean storms driven by warmer seas, with the arch already weakened by January’s Cyclone Harry.
- The same weather has eaten away at nearby Ionian beaches from Ugento to Gallipoli and contributed to landslides and evacuations across southern Italy, with damage estimated at well over €1 billion.