After the publications of the European Environmental Noise Directive in 2002, many noise maps and action plans, as well as a consistent number of scientific papers, emerged for roads, railways, airports and industries noise. Unfortunately, noise produced by ports in their surroundings seems to be forgotten at present, even though there could be many areas affected by it. Relevant attention of the authorities and scientific community seems to be paid on noise produced underwater for its interference with animals' wildlife, rather than noise produced outside that is causing complaints by some citizens. The INTERREG Maritime projects MON MONUMEN and RUMBLE aim to study noise originating from port activity in order to assess the currently unexplored situation and then identify solutions for a long-term environmental sustainability. More specifically, RUMBLE aim to effectively and efficiently implement small interventions for the mitigation, while MON ACUMEN will realize the preliminary knowledge on the issue of noise generated by ports.. In this context, questionnaires submitted to north Tyrrhenian port authorities concerning the description of the port area, the present monitoring systems, the measurement campaigns and acoustics maps performed are discussed. Furthermore, by analyzing the citizen's complaints where present, the critical aspects of the analyzed ports will be studied.
