GiFluid

07/10/2026

How a sustainable urban drainage system works.

Instead of sending rainwater straight into sewers, a SUDS street slows it down, cleans it and lets it soak into the ground:

1. Road runoff collection. Captures rainwater from the road and channels it into the system.
2. Permeable bike lane. Lets water infiltrate instead of pooling on the surface.
3. Filtering soil. Removes pollutants and toxic elements from the water.
4. Max water level. An engineered overflow with a root zone for bioretention.
5. Absorbent plants. Take up nutrients and nitrates from the water.
6. Tactile paving. Keeps the street accessible and safe for all users.

The result: less flood risk, cleaner water, cooler streets, better air and more pleasant public space. Drainage designed as landscape, not just pipes.

05/10/2026

confirms itself as a meeting point for international research and collaboration.

Over the past few days, our Department hosted the 2026 Annual Meeting of , a project funded by the European Union under .

Prof. Santa Olga Cacciola, scientific head of the project for UNICT, welcomed the partners of the international consortium, with researchers coming from Europe, Africa, and Asia, including Greece, Spain, France, Cyprus, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Two days dedicated to presenting the first-year results and planning the upcoming activities of EmergeNOW – Emergent detection technologies for plant health diagnostics at EU Import points, which develops innovative, rapid, and portable technologies for plant health diagnosis and monitoring, with a particular focus on Citrus Black Spot (CBS), Huanglongbing (HLB), and its insect vectors.

An international exchange of expertise, technologies, and experiences to strengthen early detection and contribute to the protection of plant health and agricultural production.

23/09/2026

Traditional streets flood because standard pavement leaves nowhere for rainwater to go. By integrating smart green infrastructure like rain gardens with layered soil, stone beds, and underdrain systems we can naturally filter and safely redirect stormwater back into our waterways.
These sustainable systems manage water right where it falls, protecting our cities, reducing environmental strain, and building cleaner, more resilient communities! 🌿🌧️

18/09/2026

04/09/2026

Salvo Cocina, Direttore Generale del Dipartimento della Protezione Civile della Regione Siciliana, ha visitato il del Di3A - Unict, insieme al Prof. Giuseppe Luigi Cirelli, per osservare da vicino l'efficacia delle Nature-Based Solutions e delle infrastrutture verdi nella gestione delle acque meteoriche, nella mitigazione termica e nella resilienza territoriale.

01/09/2026

🔬✨ Nuova ricerca in corso! 🌍📊 al link https://forms.gle/KxLtx6HkYkFECh8fA

Il progresso scientifico e la valorizzazione del territorio non si esauriscono nella sola dimensione tecnica e nei modelli quantitativi 📐. Ad oggi è indispensabile integrare la prospettiva e la partecipazione attiva della comunità locale 🤝🏛️.

L'adozione di soluzioni innovative ed efficaci si realizza pienamente solo attraverso il confronto aperto e il coinvolgimento diretto dal basso 🗣️🌱. Il vostro punto di vista, le vostre esperienze e il vostro supporto costante costituiscono una risorsa preziosa per orientare il percorso d'indagine verso esiti realmente condivisi 🎯📈.

Vi invitiamo a seguire i prossimi aggiornamenti e a contribuire con le vostre riflessioni nei commenti 💬👇!

🔬 🤝 🌱 🌍 📊

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🔬✨ New research ! 🌍📊

Scientific advancement and territorial valorization extend beyond purely technical dimensions and quantitative frameworks 📐. Integrating the perspectives and active engagement of local communities is essential 🤝🏛️.

The implementation of innovative and effective solutions is achieved through participatory dialogue and bottom-up involvement 🗣️🌱. Your insights, lived experiences, and ongoing support serve as an invaluable foundation for steering empirical inquiry toward shared, actionable outcomes 🎯📈.

Stay tuned for upcoming developments and share your reflections in the comments below 💬👇!

🔬 🤝 🌱 🌍 📊

Gentile partecipante, il presente questionario rientra in una ricerca condotta nell'ambito del progetto CARDIMED (Climate Adaptation and Resilience Demonstrated In the MEDiterranean region) e ha l'obiettivo di valutare: (a) la percezione della comunità accademica relativa alle soluzioni basate sull...

28/08/2026

Even the Roberto Burle Marx Foundation has dedicated space to the 22 May seminar, confirming how far the event's resonance travelled beyond Catania. Founder and Chair Andrea Burle Webb opened proceedings with the keynote "Roberto Burle Marx: A Vision in Motion", while Laura Maria Mourão brought the Pampulha Modern Ensemble case study as an example of managing historic landscapes. A nice sign of how the work done in Catania is engaging with leading international voices in landscape and nature-based solutions.

Read more:

https://www.burlemarxfoundation.org/university-of-catania-seminar

Hosted by the University of Catania (Di3A) on 22 May 2026 within the framework of the CARDIMED project, this seminar brought together academics, practitioners and public authorities to explore landscape as ecological infrastructure for climate resilience and urban regeneration in the Mediterranean c...

18/08/2026

August's issue of Gattopardo traces how our summers are changing: an unprecedented warming that has reshaped Sicily's landscape over the past two decades, from the rise of "coolcation" travel toward Northern Europe to the incoming Bolkestein directive on beach concessions, and two centuries of seaside history leading up to the Costa Sud redevelopment project.

It is against this backdrop that concrete responses are already taking shape: from the Tondo Gioeni rain gardens in Catania( CARDIMED project) to the experimental green roofs (the GIFLUID project at the University of Catania, Di3A's research works to retain rainfall, mitigate building overheating. As researcher Emanuela Rita Giuffrida, this shift concerns everyone, not only engineers and technicians, since sustainable territorial management cannot exist without community.

Pick up the new issue of Gattopardo, and follow us to see how Catania is building a more climate-resilient future, one green roof at a time.

16/07/2026

Il contributo scientifico "Hydrological and Urban Criteria for Locating Nature-Based Solutions in Highly Densely Built-Up Areas: The Case of Tondo Gioeni (Catania, Italy)" ha ricevuto il Best Poster Award alla conferenza internazionale NOVATECH 2026 (Lione, Francia), tra i principali eventi dedicati alla gestione sostenibile delle acque in ambito urbano.
👏 Complimenti al Prof. Giuseppe Luigi Cirelli, prof, Salvatore Barbagallo, Pross.ssa Feliciana Licciardello e prof.ssa Liviana Sciuto ed al resto del team per questo importante riconoscimento, che conferma l'impegno del Di3A - Unict nella ricerca internazionale e nello sviluppo di soluzioni innovative per città più resilienti e sostenibili.

🏆 Best Poster Award a NOVATECH 2026!
Il contributo scientifico "Hydrological and Urban Criteria for Locating Nature-Based Solutions in Highly Densely Built-Up Areas: The Case of Tondo Gioeni (Catania, Italy)" ha ricevuto il Best Poster Award alla conferenza internazionale NOVATECH 2026 (Lione, Francia), tra i principali eventi dedicati alla gestione sostenibile delle acque in ambito urbano.
La ricerca, coordinata da nell'ambito del progetto europeo – Horizon Europe, è stata premiata per la qualità scientifica e l'approccio interdisciplinare. 🌍
👏 Complimenti al Prof. Giuseppe Luigi Cirelli, al gruppo di ricerca e a tutti i partner coinvolti per questo importante riconoscimento, che conferma l'impegno del nella ricerca internazionale e nello sviluppo di soluzioni innovative per città più resilienti e sostenibili.