Lazio, Italy

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This pair of multitemporal radar images, made using the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) onboard the ERS-1 satellite and the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) onboard Envisat shows Rome and the Lazio province surrounding it. The 1993 SAR multitemporal image, on the right, was created from three acquisitions, in January 1992, April 1993, and June 1993, whereas the 2003 ASAR image, on the left, was created from acquisitions made in November 2002, August 2003, and May 2003. In the center is the city of Rome, Italy (large bright area) and most of the southern part of the Lazio region. Towards the southeast of Rome the Ciampino International Airport and the volcanic lakes (Albano and Nemi) of the Albani Hills are visible. In the upper right corner of the image is the Fucino Basin, an agricultural region. Close examination of the pair visually reveals a trend in Latium land use over the last 10 years: migration out of the medieval inner city to modern, comfortable housing in the suburbs. According to a report made by the XVth Assessorate of the city of Rome, "Dinamiche demografiche recenti nel commune di Roma e politiche del terriotorio" ( Recent Demographic Dynamics and Land Use Policy in Rome , Dep. XV, Economic and political policy), between 1998 and 2002, the inner city lost 6.8% of its population, while the suburbs gained 12.3%. In the image pair, suburban areas such as Tor Vergata below the western flank of the Albano volcano or the town of Ciampino just north of the airport in the center right of the image show extensions as compared to the 1993 image. In the plains to the north of the volcano, the suburban areas of Finocchio and Borghesiana show notable increases in extension; the area just west of the Lucretili mountains at top right of the image, the villages of Tivoli, Palombara Sabina, Guidonia and Marcellina also show notable extension in comparison to 1993. To the west of the city, the quarters of Boccea and Primavalle are the areas where suburban sprawl has increased notably over the last ten years.

Technical Information:

• Satellite: Envisat
• Instrument: ASAR
• Acquisition: 17-Aug-2003
• Orbit nr: 07648
• Center coordinates: lat. 41.63, lon. 12.85

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