Il libro affronta le tematiche inerenti gli aspetti materici delle superfici dell'abitare. Esso raccoglie i risultati di progressive sperimentazioni sulla progettazione delle qualità materico-sensoriali delle superfici, facendo leva sulle contaminazioni tra l'ambito disciplinare degli interni e l'ambito del design. Le riflessioni teoriche e gli esiti progettuali si svolgono a partire da quattro operazioni compositore principali, nell'ordine: Piegare, Cucire, Tessere, Stratificare, e delle loro infinite combinazioni. Tali azioni risolvono il passaggio dalla materia data alla materia di espressione, alla forma. La successione delle operazioni compositive è finalizzata a produrre un processo di differenziazione della materia, ed un potenziamento delle sue prestazioni percettive e sensoriali. L'artefatto attraverso progressive azioni e contaminazioni, si presta così a divenire parte di un più vasto teatro della materia.

La mostra tenutasi al Salone Nautico di Brindisi nel giugno del 2013, è il risultato di una ricerca per la mappatura del Saper Fare in Puglia, finalizata a riconoscere le potenzialità manifatturiere della regione al fine di metterle in rapporto con le nascenti competenze di design legate alla nascita e sviluppo del corso di laurea in Disegno Industriale del Politecnico di Bari

Il libro prosegue lo studio già avviato dagli autori sugli aspetti materici delle superfici dell’abitare. In esso sono approfonditi i termini di un confronto internazionale sul tema del design delle superfici, al fine di valutarne le ulteriori potenzialità, sia nei presupposti teorici sia negli esiti applicativo-progettuali che nella sperimentazione didattica. Il contenuto delle interviste presenti nel testo ha confermato la validità della direzione di ricerca intrapresa e ne ha ampliato gli orizzonti. Sono emerse le virtuose intersezioni dei processi industriali con pratiche handmade, tra consapevolezza dei linguaggi artistici della contemporaneità, portato della tradizione e competenze tecniche. Il complesso apparato di esperienze e ricerche è stato poi trasmesso ed applicato nell’ambito di un preciso contesto formativo, consentendo ad un gruppo di studenti di sperimentarne le potenzialità espressive.

La ricerca mette in luce caratteri e specificità dell’esperienza didattica Laboratorio Uno tenutasi alla fine degli anni settanta a Matera sotto la direzione di Mario Cresci. Dall’analisi della documentazione reperita e dalle testimonianze degli ex allievi, emerge la consapevolezza di una necessaria diversità della formazione del design nel Mezzogiorno, rispetto ai modelli educativi nazionali e internazionali esistenti. Al centro delle riflessioni il ruolo della cultura materiale locale, dei suoi rituali e del significato profondo degli oggetti quotidiani che la rappresentano.

“The “skin” of the architectonic artefact becomes the interface between the vivid feeling of living and the constitutive material of living”.(Vitta, 2008) The paper documents a route developed between didactics and research, concerning the aspects of materials of the interior surfaces. It gathers the results of progressive experimentations on the design of the material-sensorial qualities of the surfaces, leveraging on contaminations and the disciplinary techniques. The disciplinary fields are about interiors, as regards the covering of the surfaces of the living spaces; and about design, as regards the planning of the surfaces considered as autonomous artefacts, besides covering surfaces. The will of focusing the attention on the sensorial, tactile and visual aspects of the surfaces, has defined the need to identify four main compositional operations, as follows: Folding, Sewing, Weaving, Stratifying and their endless combinations. These actions on surfaces define the passage from the material to formal expression. The succession of the compositional actions is finalized to produce a process of differentiation of the matter in order to obtain a development of its perceptive and sensorial qualities, a passage from the matters to the manners (Deleuze, 2007). The artefact through the progressive actions and contaminations, becomes part of a wider theatre of the material. The actions on surfaces arise from the free experimentation in laboratory on the manipulation and the contamination of the available materials, with particular reference to the theme of softness, comfort and light. The sensoriality and the will to classificate the values of the surface of the materials are topics present since a long time in the debate on contemporary design. The are here expressed to make a contribution and to open at the same time new application sectors of the design within the world of interiors. The fabric assumes particular relevance in this logic, as “a flexible or an elastic body, still has cohering parts that form a fold, such that they are not separated into parts, but are rather divided to infinity in smaller and smaller folds, that always retain a certain cohesion” (p. 9). Deleuze calls this cohesion as Weaving of materials, different for each material: from the travertine, material of the baroque, cavernous and spongy without voids, without holes, at most like a cavern in a cavern, bearer of a “tendency of the matter to pass over the space, to conciliate itself with the fluid” (p. 8), to the fabric itself in its infinite drapes. Or rather, the fabric, more than the paper, concentrates in it these qualities, not only for its flexibility, but to be composed of parts which in the weaving are joined in an indivisible unity, in a machinic and not mechanical entity, as Deleuze would say. So, to define the qualities of materials, Deleuze uses the word Weaving. It is not only the specific material operation of the weaving, but it assumes the value of a ge

Lo scritto approfondisce il tema della composizione a partire dai principi che indagano la relazione tra forma e costruzione degli elementi di un artefatto. Gli elementi primari della composizione, quali sono l’asta ed il piano, vengono descritti attraverso un vocabolario assai ampio di esercizi compositivi in cui si pone l’attenzione al rapporto tra la modalità di connessione e l’esito formale. Nel rappresentare il variare del numero di elementi e del tipo di giunto, si amplia e potenzia il variare degli esiti formali ed espressivi dell’opera stessa. Così attraverso l’evidenza data ai principi e alle norme che ne regolano l’assemblaggio, viene attribuita una valenza estetica alla composizione, e attraverso l’identificazione del ruolo e del significato degli elementi nella definizione dell’opera la funzione statica si traduce in forma estetica: ogni elemento ha la forma appropriata a rappresentare il proprio ruolo e la propria funzione all’interno della costruzione. Infine, la composizione di aste e piani tiene conto che il materiale utilizzato è il legno, e quindi le scelte compositive si sviluppano in maniera coerente alle caratteristiche tecniche del materiale ed alla sua vocazione formale.

Il contributo descrive i caratteri che definiscono lo spazio interno dell’architettura in relazione al tipo edilizio ed al sistema costruttivo utilizzato. Il tipo abitativo è la casa a schiera intra moenia, sviluppatasi a partire dall’XI secolo nelle città della Puglia centrala costiera, ove risulta dominante la cultura costruttiva in muratura portante ed il principio tettonico di riferimento è quello della parete muraria continua e della volta. L’edilizia abitativa dell’area di studio, la città di Molfetta, si caratterizza dal valore massivo della composizione e dall’articolazione plastica della muratura, così da non essere semplice elevazione di muro. L’architettura degli interni si declina in maniera coerente al principio costruttivo adottato in muratura portante, e trova evidenza attraverso la combinazione di masse voluminose, attraverso la giustapposizione di piani differenti di profondità, ancora attraverso la stratificazione orizzontale dei suoi elementi a descrivere una composizione fatta per netti chiaroscuri. L’architettura nell’identificarsi con la costruzione esprime l’atto costruttivo ed acquisisce la vocazione formale della tecnica impiegata. Ciò significa che la tecnica costruttiva in muratura portante ha in sé i caratteri che vengono trasferiti sul piano dell’architettura degli interni diventando dati formali.

The archaeological site of Egnathia is located along the present Apulian Adriatic coastline. The coastal hazard that comprises coastal/land processes, past sea level and climatic changes greatly influenced the evolution of the historical place until the abandonment. The ancient ruins, present both emerged and submerged such as docks and harbour, are special markers. They provide a more precise chronological correlation with the events and play a remarkable role in understanding the coastal morphodynamics and past sea level stands. These structures can be considered real archaeo- geodetic bench-marks giving a basic contribution to recognize and correlate paleo sea level and, indirectly pointing out the main climatological events.During glacial and interglacial periods, sea level has changed due to astronomic, climatic and biological causes. In coastal morphodynamic, the climatic changes have a main role also in the balance between sea and land; that is the destructive and constructive processes caused by sea actions. The coastal morphological evolution of the coastal stretch facing the ancient Egnathia has been reconstructed applying an original numerical model that takes into account the wave motion energies occurred longshore and the flux energy applied by the wind -induced wave actions to the shorelines. The amount of sediments drifted by wave motions and longshore currents, particularly during the storms occurred in the years 1951-2000 has been considered. In consecutive steps, the model defines the energy obtained by each breaker wave to the shoreline. The correlation among the model results, the geological set up, the amount of sediments moved by wave actions and currents, particularly during storms, the chronological data of the archaeological structures and the location and the vicissitudes of the ancient port, allow the reconstruction of the morphological evolution of the area facing the ancient site. The amount of sediments drifted is related to the past climatic conditions. The erosional and depositional phases have greatly controlled the geomorphological changes of the coastline and, as a consequence, also the town-planning choices during the life of the ancient town.

In relazione alle attività di ricerche condotte dall'Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica di Bari e nell'ambito di una Convenzione con il Comune di Troia (Fg) è stato effettuato uno studio sulle condizioni geologiche e gemorfologiche per l'individuazione e valutazione dei fattori di rischio in una parte dell'area pedemontana a ridosso dell'Appennino Dauno. Nel presente studio vengono descritte le fenomenologie presenti nel territorio del comune di Troia (FG), sulla base dei rilievi geologici e geomorfologici eseguiti, proponendo una possibile interpretazione della complessa fenomenologia di dissesto che interessa il centro abitato, da utilizzare come base per per la successiva valutazione del rischio.

Sinkholes are the main hazard related to underground voids of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Instabilities developing underground may propagate upwards in a dramatic manner and reach the surface in the form of a sinkhole. The Apulia region in southern Italy is an interesting case study due to the outcropping of soluble rocks throughout the region. These rocks are affected by karst processes and have a high number of anthropogenic cavities. The latter were excavated by humans at different times for a variety of purposes. The worrying recent increase in the number of sinkhole events registered in Apulia led us to collect information on natural and anthropogenic sinkholes in Apulia. We focused on anthropogenic cavities, mostly excavated in Plio-Pleistocene calcarenites, and characterized the rock masses before using two- and three-dimensional parametricnumerical analyses to model the instability processes, with the aim of exploring the failure mechanisms that lead to the occurrence of sinkholes. The parametric studies allowed us to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the stability conditions through simple charts designed for use in the field.

Nell'ambito delle tematiche relative alla progettazione del sottosuolo, oggetto anche di un PRIN (Programmi di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale) sono state individuate le linee guida per il recupero e la valorizzazione degli ipogei sia urbani che extraurbani ed è stato possibile formulare modelli di sperimentazione progettuale tenendo conto di tutte le variabili al contorno dovute alla complessità dei siti. Le forme del paesaggio pugliese sono variabili e disegnano un composito panorama geografi co nel cui ambito si distinguono diverse aree caratterizzate da peculiarità geomorfologiche delimitate da confini orografici. Essendo la Puglia costituita essenzialmente da depositi carbonatici caratterizzati da diffuse morfologie carsiche, è una delle regioni a più elevata densità di ipogei con alta valenza archeologica e storico- artistica, attualmente in stato di conservazione precario, per cui, in alcuni casi viene obliterata la lettura completa dell'insediamento stesso. Il patrimonio ipogeo, molto complesso e articolato, è basato su una pluralità di processi insediativi e culturali di epoche e connotazioni diverse, strettamente integrati nel tessuto edilizio attuale. Le ricerche svolte hanno riguardato, con approccio multidisciplinare e multiscala, le diverse problematiche relative alle tipologie di ipogei, analizzando la loro ubicazione, genesi, il sistema di integrazione con la città e il possibile recupero funzionale. Il metodo di indagine è stato di tipo deduttivo. A seguito dell'analisi effettuata mediante schedatura di siti presi in esame nel territorio di Gravina di Puglia, Palagianello e Monopoli, sono stati individuati alcuni ipogei signif cativi in funzione della genesi, tipologia, quota sul l.m.m., condizioni ambientali e climatiche e potenzialità di recupero al fine di sostenere al meglio la progettualità e ipotizzare una loro riconversione ad attività contemporanee. I modelli insediativi ipogei più comuni in base alla loro genesi sono di due tipi - quelli con sviluppo in verticale e quelli in orizzontale.Se opportunamente valorizzate e messe in relazione con il livello stradale, le aree del sottosuolo possono contribuire attivamente allo sviluppo di spazi urbani e favorire la trasformazione del territorio in un ben più vastoprocesso di controllo e rinnovamento della forma del paesaggio mediterraneo. La riqualifi cazione degli ipogei diviene proposta di fruibilità e uso di luoghi con funzioni diverse, attraverso un modo nuovo di vivere lo spazio tra quote fortemente differenti, tra esterno ed interno, tra spazi in luce e spazi in ombra, tra memoria e quotidianità.

Understanding past sea-level change plays an important role in determining the underlying causes, and also allows the extrapolation of past sea levels to locations and epochs for which there are no instrumental data. A compilation of global sea-level estimates based on deep-sea oxygen isotope ratios at millennial-scale resolution or higher was published since '70. These global sea level curves do not take in account isostasy and tectonics.Observed sea level change can be reconstructed from dated fossils, coral reef terraces, speleothems, emerged and forming terraces on coastal areas, archaeological and other markers well connected with sea level. Because of the lack of coral reefs in the Mediterranean sea, results on late Quaternary sea level changes have been difficult to obtain in comparison with typical sites such as Barbados, the Huon Peninsula, Tahiti, Florida and others. On the contrary the very low tidal range of Mediterranean seas offers a good opportunity to produce precise observations and considerations on climatic change.

An interdisciplinary research has been carried on for several years by CNR IRPI and Politecnico di Bari about the geological, tectonical, morphological and geotechnical aspects connected to the land subsidence of the Sibari alluvial coastal plain. Historical subsidence in this area is made evident by the vertical stacking of three ancient towns along the Crati river. In order to investigate the evolution and the disappearance of the archaeological site, the results of the research defined the causes of the settlements affecting the area since ancient times, while recent studies have focused on a recent component of the subsidence and addressed to the interpretation of the causes of the current subsidence rates logged in the plain by PS-INSAR monitoring . Geotechnical modeling has been developed to investigate whether these rates are due to both water withdrawal from deep aquifers, identified in previous studies, and pumping of shallow water through a well-point system still active in a few areas at the archeological site The paper is specially addressed to assess the geotechnical modeling that has been developed to interpret the source of the current settlement rates. The model is based on an extensive set of geotechnical profiles and laboratory data. The calculation results are compared to the recent data collected by remote sensing and allow to forecast the possible evolution of the subsidence.

Although the Calabria region in southern Italy experienced Quaternary uplift, intense Holocene subsidenceis documented at ancient Sybaris, one of the most powerful among the Greek colonies collectively knownas Magna Greacia. Sybaris flourished along the Ionian Sea coast of north-eastern Calabria since 2.7 ka BPand until the end of the Roman empire, when it went progressively concealed below the ground. Study ofthe Latest PleistoceneeHolocene evolution of this area involved analysis of the relative sea-level history forindividual borehole logs, based on re-calibration of published ages and stipulation of nominal sea-levelpositions related to each marker. For investigation of the short-term evolution, a novel compilation ofgeological and archaeological sea-level markers was supported by new radiometric ages. Appraisal of theposition of dated markers, when compared to a sea-level curve built on purpose for this coast using anupdated glacio-hydro-isostatic model, indicates a locally intense difference in vertical motion betweenboreholes located away from, or close to, the ancient town. Specifically, whereas data from the basement ofthe archaeological layers document large subsidence, more distant sites behaved differently. A site w2 kmto the NW of the settlement was apparently stable throughout the Holocene, and a site w6 km to the SEexperienced uplift at w1.5mm/y since 0.6 ka BP. In addition, analysis reveals temporal changes in subsidencepattern in the archaeological area. Large (5e6 mm/y) Early Holocene subsidence at Sybaris slowed tow1.5mm/y during the middle part of the Holocene. The slowing-down trend continued during and afterhistorical occupation at w0.8 mm/y, a value similar to the long-term (35e40 ka BP) rate established fromthe deepest borehole samples. These data are interpreted as suggesting that sediment compaction affectedthe basement of Sybaris during the Early Holocene, and progressively ceased during historical times, whena tectonic signal prevailed. During historical time, the spatial difference in vertical motion is chieflyattributed to differential growth of nearby folds documented by morpho-tectonic studies on-land andseismic profiles analysis in the offshore of Sybaris. Whereas location above a syncline caused tectonicsubsidence at Sybaris, the regions to the north and south record stability or uplift that reflects transition togrowing anticlines. In the short term (1e10 ka scale), these local tectonic processes prevail over theregional uplift pattern, which is expressed at the 100 ka scale or over.

The Tremiti Archipelago is a marine reserve within the Gargano National Park in the Apulian region of southern Italy. The Tremiti Archipelago comprises the islands of San Domino, San Nicholas, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa and includes some of the most beautiful and interesting natural habitats of the Mediterranean Sea. All the islands should be considered in any regional geoheritage inventory as they havea great geological, environmental and touristic value. This papermainly aims to define a hazard susceptibility assessment for Cretaccio Island, the smallest of the archipelago and where, due to its climatic and location, weathering and erosional processes act on weak and poorly cemented carbonate rocks that have been morphologically and structurally controlled by the geodynamic evolution of the area. These processes can have a negative impact on aspects of the conservation and, more generally, the future socioeconomic life of the whole archipelago. This study aims to establish a background for the design of possible engineering works to stabilise some of the coasts.

We take the chance offered by the comment of Evelpidou and Pirazzoli (2015a) to our paper (Antonioli et al., 2015) to clarify some aspects of our work. We reinforce our statement that a present-day tidal notch is almost continuously developed along much of the central Mediterranean coast.

The presentation is a review of researches carried out in the last years about coastal stability relating to sea level changes.

During the last decade, several papers have been published to estimate the relative sea level change fromcoastal archaeological indicators of the last 3.4 ka BP in many locations of the Italian coasts and theMediterranean Sea. The use of the archaeological information has been poorly focused for the MiddleAges, due to the few available coastal installations for this period, thus not allowing precise sea levelestimation for the last 1000 years, to complement the instrumental data available for the last 100e120years. This study discusses an archaeological marker of the Middle Ages, used to reconstruct the story ofthe sea level changes in the last 1000 years, at the St. Nicholas Basilica, built in 1087 AD along the coast ofBari (Apulia, southern Italy). The elevations of the ancient floor levels of the crypt underwent repeatedflooding due to a continuous rising of the groundwater table, which required restoration and uplifting ofpavements between 1087 and 1956 to keep them dry. The palaeo-sea levels have been obtained bymeasuring the position of the groundwater table, the elevation of which is mainly driven by sea levelsince the time of the construction of the Basilica.The elevation of the archaeological markers and the water table were compared against the latestpredicted sea level curve for the Holocene along the coast of Bari. As this coastal area is unaffected bysignificant vertical tectonic motion over the last 125 ky, the data detail the timing of the relative sea levelrise since the Middle Ages and can be used to improve the predicted sea level curve for this region for thelast 1000 years.

Apulia region, the foreland of the southern Italian Apennines, is made up of a 6-7 km-thick succession of Mesozoic shallow-water limestones and dolostones, locally covered by thin and discontinuous Tertiary and Quaternary carbonate and clastic deposits. Due to their long subaerial exposure, the Mesozoic carbonate bedrock recorded the development in the subsurface of a dense network of karst cavities, mostly controlled by tectonic discontinuities. As a result, a strong susceptibility to natural sinkholes has to be recorded in Apulia. In addition, the possibility of occurrence of other problems related to the high number of man-made cavities has to be added in the region. A great variety of different typologies of artificial cavities (mostly excavated in the Plio-Pleistocene soft calcarenites) is actually present, including underground quarries, worship sites, oil mills, civilian settlements, etc. Overall, 2200 natural and 1200 artificial cavities, respectively, have been so far surveyed in Apulia. Following the urban development in the last century in Apulia, many of these cavities lie nowadays below densely populated neighborhoods, roads or communication routes. These conditions are at the origin of the main geomorphological hazard for the human society in Apulia, which requires a careful evaluation, aimed at protecting and safeguarding the human life, and at providing the necessary information for a correct land use planning and management. The importance of the sinkhole hazard is further testified by the worrying increase in the number of events during the last 5-6 years. In response to these situations, joint research activities were started by the Institute of Research for Hydrological Protection of the National Research Council (CNR-IRPI) and the Basin Authority of Apulia, aimed at several goals, that include (but are not limited to) the collection of information on natural and anthropogenic sinkholes in Apulia, the implementation of numerical analyses for modelling the instability processes, and the development of charts for a preliminary evaluation of the stability of underground caves. Two distinct approaches were established to take into account the different petrographic, structural and geotechnical features of both the hard and soft carbonate rocks. The approach dealing with hard carbonate rocks (where natural karst caves develop) is based on speleological and geometrical surveys of the caves and on an integrated geological and geomechanical characterization of the carbonate rock mass, aimed at individuating the main critical aspects of the karst caves in terms of likely effects on the society. On the other hand, the approach to verify the stability of soft rocks where artificial cavities have been excavated is mostly dependent upon the peculiar petrographic and geomechanical characteristics of the calcarenite rock mass, typically massive and unaffected by tectonic discontinuities. As a consequence, the traditional analytical methods o

Nell'ambito del PRIN (Programmi di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale 2007) è stata svolta una ricerca mutidisciplinare e multiscala sugli interventi volti al miglioramento e al recupero di alcuni spazi del sottosuolo urbano ed extraurbano. La Puglia è una delle regioni a più elevata densità di ipogei con alta valenza archeologica e storico- artistica, attualmente in stato di conservazione precario, per cui viene obliterata la lettura completa dell'insediamento stesso. Il patrimonio ipogeo, molto complesso e articolato, è basato su una pluralità di processi insediativi e culturali di epoche e connotazioni diverse, strettamente integrati nel tessuto edilizio attuale. I casi presi in esame sono quelli emblematici di Canosa di Puglia, Gravina di Puglia e Palagianello. Se opportunamente valorizzate e messe in relazione con il livello stradale, le aree del sottosuolo possono contribuire attivamente allo sviluppo di spazi urbani e favorire la trasformazione del territorio in un ben più vasto processo di controllo e rinnovamento della forma delpaesaggio mediterraneo.

The geomorphic processes in landscape evolution are commonly assumed deterministic, although their high variability in rates and time. As the stability analyses of slopes are concerned, the classical methods consider threshold values of the different elements (slope angle, friction angle, climatic conditions, hydrogeological conditions, seismicity) that condition the safety factors, but often widespread landscape instabilities occur when the threshold values are not exceeded. To analyze these phenomena we studied a model for defining an "average" pattern of landscape evolution starting from the single deterministic process. Many previous studies demonstrated the driving role of weathering and erosion processes in landslide evolution. Among these, the "instability principle of geomorphic equilibrium" (Scheidegger, 1983) stated the relevancy of exogenic processes (weathering, erosion, etc.) particularly in those places where preexisting micro topographic irregularities or lithological variations are recognizable.The present paper gives an example of the unstable growth of small perturbations from the initial conditions up to the landslide initiation, even if there were no measurable variations in external controls. In this analysis the geomaterials are considered as a weathering system mathematically depicted as an n-components nonlinear dynamical system. A hierarchical multiscale model of instability is applied. The model treats four spatial scales: 1) local regolith scale (weathering processes, in situ breakdown of geo-materials), 2) hill slope scale (allocation of weathered products: soil removal in solid form, via erosion and mass wasting, or in dissolved form via surface water flow), 3) landscape units (relationships between weathering and denudation), 4) broadest landscape scale (topographic and isostatic response to weathering-limited denudation, unloading or depositional loading). The landslide susceptibilityanalysis for the present study is located in the south of Italy, in the Apulian Tavoliere,in front of the Southern portion of Apennine Chain. We focus on the town of Troia (in the Foggia province) which is representative of a typical geomorphological situation of the Daunian Subapennine villages. The main outcropping rocks are made of silty clay sediments, well known as "Subapennine Clays", and superimposed clastic deposits of coarse-grained conglomerates. There, the landscape is characterized by low hills and intervening wide alluvial valleys. On the top of the flat ridges are located several old towns and the bordering slopes are affected by continuous geomorphological evolution governed by erosion and weathering. So, several landslides take place on the borders of the villages. To analyse the stability conditions of the area we considered a local scale weathering system mathematicallytreated as a 5-components nonlinear system. Applying the dynamical instability principle and solving thesystem throughout the first Routh-Hurwit

Recent works (Evelpidou et al., 2012) suggest that the modern tidal notch is disappearing worldwide duesea level rise over the last century. In order to assess this hypothesis, we measured modern tidal notchesin several of sites along the Mediterranean coasts. We report observations on tidal notches cut alongcarbonate coasts from 73 sites from Italy, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Malta and Spain, plusadditional observations carried outside the Mediterranean. At each site, we measured notch width anddepth, and we described the characteristics of the biological rim at the base of the notch. We correlatedthese parameters with wave energy, tide gauge datasets and rock lithology.Our results suggest that, considering 'the development of tidal notches the consequence of midlittoralbioerosion' (as done in Evelpidou et al., 2012) is a simplification that can lead to misleading results, suchas stating that notches are disappearing. Important roles in notch formation can be also played by waveaction, rate of karst dissolution, salt weathering and wetting and drying cycles. Of course notch formationcan be augmented and favoured also by bioerosion which can, in particular cases, be the mainprocess of notch formation and development.Our dataset shows that notches are carved by an ensemble rather than by a single process, both todayand in the past, and that it is difficult, if not impossible, to disentangle them and establish which one isprevailing. We therefore show that tidal notches are still forming, challenging the hypothesis that sealevel rise has drowned them.