Partners from Italy, Montenegro and Albania met in Lecce to advance climate risk protection for Adriatic heritage sites.

On 24 April 2026, the first Transnational Monitoring Meeting of ARCHAEOSAFE “Archaeological Safety and Risk Management for Coastal and Underwater Heritage” was held at the Grottesca Hall of the Rectorate of the University of Salento in Lecce. 

The meeting gathered project partners, representatives of the Managing Authority and the Joint Secretariat to review the project’s progress and coordinate the next activities. During the meeting, partners presented the first climate risk assessments for the pilot sites and aligned communication and visibility activities for the next project phases.

Coastal and underwater archaeological sites across the South Adriatic are increasingly threatened by climate change, including sea level rise, extreme weather events, coastal erosion and environmental changes affecting conservation conditions. ARCHAEOSAFE aims to improve the protection of cultural heritage through innovative digital tools and coordinated emergency response systems. the project is developing the ER4CSS System (Emergency Response ICT System for Cultural Sites’ Safeguarding), an integrated platform combining BIM-GIS technologies, environmental simulation models and early warning systems for pilot sites in Italy, Montenegro and Albania.

The advanced climate risk assessments for pilot sites and the digital monitoring and simulation tools, will contribute to a cross-border emergency response plan for coastal and underwater cultural heritage protection.

a total budget of €1,154,076.87,  is led by University of Salento in cooperation with CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (Italy), the Institute of Modern Technologies Montenegro (IMTM), the Municipality of Kotor,  the International Centre for Albanian Archaeology (ICAA), Molise Tourism and Culture Foundation. Associated Partner is the National Superintendence for Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Italian Ministry of Culture.