The Italian Environmental Agency estimates that at present (2005) contaminated areas which need remediation overcome 10000 sites. Of these, areas previously settled by highly contaminating factories (e.g. chemicals at Porto Marghera, Venice; metallurgy at Bagnoli, Naples; tannery factories at Arzignano, Vicenza and S. Croce, Pisa) present very high contamination levels by organic as well as inorganic substances.