‘Unwanted Valentine’s Day gift’: Italy’s iconic ‘lovers’ arch’ collapses after storms – The Times of India

A rock formation known as the “lovers’ arch” on Italy’s Adriatic coast collapsed on Valentine’s Day following days of heavy storms, local officials said. Authorities warned that other sections of the fragile coastline could also be at risk.The natural arch, part of the Sant’Andrea sea stacks near Melendugno in Italy’s Puglia region, had been a popular site for wedding proposals and tourist photographs.“This is an unwanted Valentine’s Day gift,” Melendugno Mayor Maurizio Cisternino told the local Corriere Salentino newspaper, calling the collapse “a very hard blow” to the area’s image and tourism.Cisternino said days of heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas battered the coastline and led to the collapse of the arch. “Nature has taken back what it created,” he added, as cited by CNN. The arch was formed over centuries by wind and waves eroding the calcarenite stone cliffs along Italy’s Puglia coast on the Adriatic Sea. Once used as a strategic lookout to warn of pirates, the site later became a popular destination for couples and tourists, with hotels and resorts named after the arch developing in the area.Instagram photos have attracted thousands of couples to the arch in recent years, Cisternino said. As the site is free and open to the public, the exact number of visitors is unknown, he added.Warmer sea temperatures linked to climate change are seen as a factor behind the extreme weather that damaged the arch, which had already been weakened by Cyclone Harry in January.Concerns over the landmark’s fragility had been raised for years.“It’s a tragedy we knew was inevitable, we just didn’t expect it to happen so soon,” Cisternino told local media on Sunday.