The onset of the Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e) represents a critical interval for investigating vegetation responses to rapid climate warming and changes in hydroclimatic seasonality in the Mediterranean region. While forest expansion during early interglacial phases is rather well-documented, the degree to which reforestation pathways differed within the same geographic region across contrasting physiographic settings, remains insufficiently explored. Here we present a palynological comparison of early Eemian vegetation development at two central Italian sites characterised by different topographic and climatic contexts: Valle di Castiglione, a lowland crater lake of Alban Hills, located in the alluvial plain close to Rome, and the Fucino Basin, a wide intramontane dried out lake situated in the central Apennines. The explicit aim of this comparison is to assess whether early Eemian reforestation followed synchronous or differentiated trajectories in lowland versus intramontane settings, and to evaluate the role of altitude, basin morphology and continentality on modulating forest establishment and stability.Preliminary pollen data from Valle di Castiglione carried out in the frame of AMUSED project (https://progetti.ingv.it/it/amused), indicate a rapid expansion of arboreal taxa at the MIS 6–MIS 5 transition, associated with increasing temperature and precipitation and the rapid establishment of predominantly mesophilous and Mediterranean vegetation during MIS 5e. These lowland dynamics are compared with evidence from the Fucino Basin, one of the most complete and sensitive terrestrial archives in the Mediterranean and a key reference for vegetation–climate relationships in central Italy. The comparison is explicitly designed to explore whether early Eemian reforestation followed synchronous or differentiated pathways in lowland coastal versus intramontane environments. This lowland record is compared with the high-resolution, radiometrically constrained pollen sequence from the Fucino Basin recently presented by Roberts et al. (2025), which provides a detailed reconstruction of vegetation dynamics between ~139 and 107 ka based on a robust tephrochronological framework. The Fucino record shows that early Eemian forest expansion was not monotonic but involved a rapid increase in many temperate deciduous taxa interspersed with centennial-scale fluctuations and transient reductions in forest cover.This contribution is conceived as a pilot and contextual study in support of the ICDP proposal for the drilling of the Fucino paleolake (MEME project – the longest continuous terrestrial archive in the Mediterranean recording the last five million years of Earth system history), which aims to recover a continuous, high-resolution and chronologically robust record of environmental change across the entire basin infill. By placing early Eemian vegetation dynamics from Valle di Castiglione into a regional comparative framework with Fucino, this study provides a first step towards disentangling the role of altitude, basin setting and climatic gradients in shaping interglacial reforestation patterns in central Italy. Roberts, C. A., Zanchetta, G., Giaccio, B., Nomade, S., Mannella, G., Sadori, L., ... & Tzedakis, P. C. (2025). A radiometrically-constrained reference record of Last Interglacial climate and vegetation changes from the Fucino Basin, Central Italy. Quaternary Science Reviews, 363, 109377.

Italy's Holocene climate can be characterised by a latitudinal division with a climatic contrast between the northern and southern regions, notably characterised by a stronger winter-summer precipitation seasonality in southern regions. The latitudinal boundary is located between latitudes 40 degrees and 43 degrees N, creating a climatic transition zone. However, the mechanisms underpinning this hydro-climatic partition remain poorly understood, due in part to a scarcity of precisely dated, high-resolution records at key latitudes. Lago Grande di Monticchio similar to 41 degrees N) lies within this critical transitional band and presents a valuable opportunity to refine the latitudinal boundary location. Lago Grande di Monticchio is one of southern Italy's most comprehensively studied sediment archives, stretching back to the last interglacial. In this study, we employ a novel, high-resolution sediment core from Monticchio, applying a multi-proxy methodology that combines branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (brGDGT) and pollen data to reconstruct seasonal temperature and precipitation changes during the Holocene. Results confirm that temperature reconstructions derived from brGDGT and pollen records are particularly consistent for most of the signal. Comparison with other palaeoclimate records and proxies in Italy allowed us to place Lago Grande di Monticchio's climate signal within southern climate regimes (i.e., summer cooling and aridity in contrast to wetter and warmer winters), corresponding to a stronger "Mediterraneanization" process throughout the Holocene. Multi-proxy comparison indicates that the most marked contrast during summer likely lies near the upper bound of 41 degrees-43 degrees N. Persistent inconsistencies in the transition zone suggest added climatic complexity around similar to 43 degrees N, involving ocean-atmospheric teleconnections and local topography. We advocate further high-resolution, multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental studies in this transitional latitude band to refine understanding of the north-south hydro-climatic boundary across Italy in the Holocene.

Riparo l’Oscurusciuto (Ginosa, Apulia, Italy) hosts a rich Middle Paleolithic stratigraphic record, consisting of structures, fireplaces, lithic and faunal assemblages, and was occupied by Neanderthals during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The part of the stratigraphic record excavated so far encompassed a ~20-25 kyr time interval, spanning between ~42.7 BP and ~65 ka, based on i) 14C age determinations of bone collagen at the base of the uppermost stratigraphic unit (SU-1), ii) OSL dates, and iii) the correlation of SU-14 with the Mount Epomeo Green Tuff (MEGT)/Y-7 tephra layer derived from Ischia volcano in the Bay of Naples. Recent studies suggest that the MEGT and the Y-7 tephra potentially represent two, geochemically similar but temporally distinguished eruptive events on Ischia, dated between ~56 ka (MEGT) and ~60 ka (Y-7) respectively, with this having implications for the age model of Riparo l’Oscurusciuto sequence. Furthermore, ongoing excavations revealed the presence of further tephra layers underlying SU-14, with the excavated part of the Riparo l’Oscurusciuto sequence likely extending to the end of MIS 4. To better chronologically constrain the Riparo l’Oscurusciuto record further tephrochronological investigations are required.A new sampling campaign for tephra and cryptotephra analysis, including both glass and minerals major, minor (EPMA), and trace element (LA-ICP-MS) composition determination, has been undertaken. Eight samples have been taken from SU-14 and the underlying macroscopic volcanic ash deposits in SU-19 and SU-24/26. Analyses performed on the macroscopic samples revealed the occurrence of Na-Fe pyroxene (aegirine) in SU-24/26, but not in SU-14. The aegirine phase is absent in the MEGT deposits and subsequent, younger eruptive units on the island, but is present in the distal Y-7 deposits and older eruption units, thus SU-14 is confirmed to belong to the MEGT, whilst SU-24/26 can be correlated to either the Y-7 or another pre-MEGT eruption on Ischia. This is supported also by trace element analysis of the glass, where SU-14 shows wider ranges of Th and Y concentrations (i.e., Th = 14-58 ppm; Y = 27-73 ppm) relative to SU-24/26 (Th = 30-50 ppm; Y = 45-69), and similar to other MEGT proximal and distal samples. Concerning SU-19, trace element analysis also reveal concentrations similar to SU-14, however without wide ranging Th content (i.e., Th = 30-72 ppm) making its attribution to a temporally separate Y-7 still unclear.

Here we present a 40,000-year long tephrostratigraphic record from a Southern Tyrrhenian Sea marine core DED87-07, establishing key linkages to the nearby previously studied KET80-04 core site, and thus facilitating strengthened tephra correlations across the central Mediterranean region. Major and trace element volcanic glass geochemistry obtained through electron microprobe and laser ablation have enabled the successful characterisation and identification of key tephra markers, such as the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (C-2 marine tephra marker), Masseria del Monte Tuff (C-7/Y-3), and the Campanian Ignimbrite (C-13/Y-5) from Campi Flegrei, as well as the widespread Codola (C-10) and Schiava (C-9) tephra units from Somma-Vesuvius all enhancing robust core-to-core tephra correlations. Moreover, the DED87-07 marine succession is established as a central, integrative, node in the central Mediterranean tephrostratigraphic framework through the identification of tephra layers from numerous other volcanic sources, including the other Neapolitan volcanoes (Ischia, Procida), but also those derived from explosive volcanism on Mount Etna (Sicily), and the Aeolian Islands. Coupling this tephrostratigraphy with a newly acquired high-resolution oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) record and anage-depth model enhances the temporal framework, allowing for precise climato-stratigraphic positioning of volcanic events, along with new age estimates for those eruptions still lacking accurate age-determinations. Our results advance a more comprehensive and accessible record of explosive volcanism in the central Mediterranean, highlighting the key chronostratigraphic markers.

We present fourteen new Ar-40/Ar-39 ages, based on 287 single crystals analyzed from proximal and semi-proximal pyroclastic deposits, that significantly refine the chronology of Monte Vulture's initial volcanic activity (Foggianello synthem). The earliest identified eruption is the Fara d'Olivo A ignimbrite, dated at 784.7 +/- 4.7 ka (2 sigma), closely followed by the Fara d'Olivo B unit at 774.7 +/- 0.9 ka (2 sigma), which encompasses at least four distinct eruptions. We also recognize a new explosive phase at 740.0 +/- 1.6 ka (2 sigma) that we named Rapolla and that preceded the effusive Spinoritola phase (731.5 +/- 2.0 ka (2 sigma)). The youngest activity belonging to the Foggianello synthem, named "Campanile phase", is composed of pyroclastic deposits dated between 708.4 +/- 2.0 ka (2 sigma) and 700.2 +/- 1.2 ka (2 sigma). According to our results, the duration of the Foggianello system spans approximately similar to 85 ka, much longer than previously proposed. Geochemical analyses of fresh glass shards indicate a dominating phonolitic magma composition during this interval. However, a progressive change of the magmatic source, probably controlled by crustal contamination, has been observed. Furthermore, our results establish a precise correlation of Fara d'Olivo B Ignimbrite with distal tephra layers from Montalbano Jonico (V4) and Lake Ohrid (OH-DP-2869), showing that this eruption represents a robust regional stratigraphic marker of the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal. Finally, the recognition of inherited sanidines up to similar to 934 ka potentially pushes back the onset of magmatism at Monte Vulture into the Early Pleistocene, substantially earlier than previously inferred. Our results thus have implications also for the geodynamic evolution of the Apulian slab, suggesting an earlier onset of extensional tectonics and mantle upwelling.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328840.].

A comprehensive tephrochronological study was carried out on the paleo-lacustrine sedimentary sequence of the Castiglione Maar, located in the Colli Albani volcanic district (Lazio, Italy), and focused on the Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS 7; approximately 243-190 ka). Identified tephra layers were characterised for texture, mineral content, glass chemistry (major, minor, and trace elements), and dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method. The volcanic sources of the investigated tephra have been identified in the Sabatini Volcanic District and the Latera Volcanic Complex in the Vulsini District, with a smaller contribution from the Campanian province (Ischia) and Colli Albani District. Specifically, we identified tephra from the Vigna di Valle eruption (40Ar/39Ar age 199.54 +/- 0.43 ka, +/- 2 sigma), along with four tephra from presently unknown eruptions of the Sabatini Volcanic District. Particularly well-expressed and represented is the activity of the Latera Volcanic Complex, with tephra layers deriving from the eruption of Upper Grotte di Castro (modelled age 216.30 + 1.24/-1.88 ka, +/- 2 sigma), Sorano (modelled age 220.8 + 1.7/-2.0 ka), Farnese (modelled age 234.8 + 1.3/-2.1 ka and 234.4 + 1.5/-2.2 ka), and Stenzano (modelled 240.5 + 2.1/-2.0 ka). Six additional unknown eruptions from the Latera activity were found together with the above-listed well-defined ones, one of which was dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method at 219.98 +/- 0.44 ka. This highlights a more complex history of the Latera caldera. In particular, many of the identified well-known eruptive units were not single explosive events (i.e., single tephra). Instead, they testify a sequence of highly energetic events, separated by hundreds to thousands of years (multiple stacked tephra beds), sharing similar, yet geochemically barely distinguishable, glass compositions and mineralogical assemblages. Results allow a more complete reconstruction of the explosive history of Italian volcanoes during the MIS 7 and integrate the regional tephra framework by introducing several new chronostratigraphic markers. These geochronological constraints are crucial to establishing a robust age model for the Castiglione maar sequence and refining the history of Latera caldera.

The 60-m deep Plestia1 borehole characterises the most recent fill of the Quaternary Colfiorito basin, an intermontane tectonic depression in the Northern Apennines of Italy. The subsidence rate is controlled by a major SW-dipping, seismogenic normal fault most recently activated (Mmax = 6) during the 1997-98 seismic sequence. The core has been the subject of lithostratigraphic, paleomagnetic, palynological, tephrostratigraphic and micro-paleontological analyses, which define a sedimentary succession composed predominantly of silts and clays, consistent with deposition in a lacustrine environment. These sediments retain a stable, normal-polarity magnetization. Two tephra layers at 58.67 m and 38.89 m, corresponding to the Maddaloni/X-6 eruption from Campi Flegrei and an undefined eruption sourced at the Latium volcanic complex, have ages of ∼109 ka and ∼86 ka, respectively. A radiocarbon date on ostracod shells extracted from sediments at 8.90 m depth provides an age of ∼26 ka. Pollen analysis shows a succession of vegetational phases consistent with the Late Pleistocene climatic oscillations from MIS 5d to MIS 2, while the ostracod assemblage in the upper part of the succession is consistent with LGM climatic conditions. Overall, the paleomagnetic, radiocarbon, tephra, pollen and ostracod evidence indicates that Plestia1 spans the 110-15 ka interval. A Bayesian age-depth model was developed using these geochronological constraints and biostratigraphic alignments of the Plestia1 pollen profile with well-dated reference records, providing an average sedimentation rate of ∼0.6 mm/yr. Accounting for climatic and sedimentary contributions, this result represents a minimum estimate of the tectonic subsidence rate and implies a similar mid-term fault slip rate.

The southern Italian Peninsula plays a crucial role as a biogeographical hotspot in Southern Europe, influenced significantly by the Mediterranean climate. This environment acted as a glacial refuge for diverse flora and fauna, humans included. This study employs pollen analysis on Mousterian and Uluzzian sediments from Grotta-Riparo di Uluzzo C in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy) to reconstruct the vegetation landscapes encountered by the late Italian Neanderthals (thus far associated with the Mousterian) and early modern humans (linked to the Uluzzian) during the mid Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our palynological analyses reveal a distinctive and diverse environment within the Mediterranean landscape. Tephrochronological and OSL constraints and paleoenvironmental variability consistently allow us to date the investigated interval between similar to 46.6 ka and 43.4 ka, encompassing the second part of the long Greenland interstadial 12 (GI-12) and the onset of the GI-11. Over these three millennia, the environment in the area of Uluzzo C is characterized by a rich flora mainly composed of evergreen elements. Additionally, heliophytes such as Amaranthaceae, Artemisia, and Poaceae are observed. The consistent presence of pollen taxa such as Juglans, and Pinus halepensis/pinea, among others, highlights the importance of this coastal area of Apulia for the long-term persistence of Mediterranean species during the Late Pleistocene. These taxa could be supported by a generally mild climate, as suggested by the occurrence of Olea, Myrtus, and Cistus. These diverse environments would undeniably have offered various opportunities for the survival of Neanderthals and early Upper Palaeolithic hominins, especially during the warm phases and, critically, the cold events of the Late Pleistocene. Our integrated approach underscores the importance of Grotta-Riparo di Uluzzo C as a MIS 3 archive, contributing to the ongoing debate on the spatial extent of glacial refugia. Our data from Uluzzo C corroborate the previous idea that the climatic and environmental setting were not the main reason for Neanderthals' abandonment of Uluzzo Bay and potentially southern Italy around 45,000 years ago.

The C-Drill Core Repository, currently under development at the CNR - Territorial Research Area of Rome 1, is designed to address this gap by establishing a national reference facility for the conservation, management and scientific reuse of continental drilling cores. The repository will accommodate approximately 50–70 km of cores stored in controlled environments (+4 °C, room temperature, −20/−80 °C), supported by high-density mobile racking, automated climate control and continuous environmental monitoring. The facility will also host dedicated laboratories for core splitting and handling, high-resolution and multispectral imaging, XRF scanning, physical property logging (MSCL), wet and dry sample preparation, and microscopy. These capabilities will enable non-destructive characterisation and advanced analytical workflows directly linked to the archived materials.A fully integrated digital workflow will be implemented, including systematic core digitisation, LIMS-based traceability, a standardised sample request system and interoperability with international data repositories in compliance with FAIR principles (e.g. PANGAEA, EarthChem, mDIS).Conceived as a modular and scalable infrastructure, C-Drill will ensure high standards of climatic stability, data integrity, safety and user accessibility. The repository will provide services to national research institutes, universities and public agencies; support training activities for early-career scientists and technical staff; and generate interoperable datasets aligned with ICDP/IODP³, EPOS and other international frameworks.By overcoming the current fragmentation of continental core archives in Italy, C-Drill will harmonise procedures for core acquisition, documentation and access with the best practices of leading European and international repositories. At the same time, it will enhance research efficiency, foster multidisciplinary collaboration and strengthen Italy’s capacity to participate in major international scientific drilling initiatives.This contribution presents the design rationale, functional requirements, technological solutions and planned user services of the C-Drill Core Repository. The EGU platform will be used to engage potential partners, gather community feedback and refine the development roadmap towards full integration into the international scientific drilling network.

In the framework of the Research Infrastructures (RIs), scientific drilling represents a globally ranging, distributed RI that generates a wide variety of subsurface data. The ongoing project “Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System (ITINERIS)” aims at building the Italian Hub of RIs in the environmental scientific domain by coordinating a network of national nodes from 22 RIs, including the Italian participation in the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and in the International Continental Scientific Drilling Project (ICDP). The main goal of ITINERIS is to promote cross-disciplinary research in environmental sciences through the use and re-use of existing (or pre-operational) data and services and new observations, and to address scientifically and societally relevant issues. The impact of ITINERIS on the Italian geoscientists involved in scientific drilling is twofold. First, it will improve the access to both the ECORD and the ICDP infrastructures. This will result in increasing the national participation in terms of proposal writing, drilling expeditions/projects, initiatives to use legacy samples/data, and training activities. Secondly, it will allow to collect and systematize the great amount of data produced by Italian scientists in the past scientific drilling programs (DSDP-ODP-IODP). This will facilitate the data handling and interoperability approach. A thematic digital archive of ECORD/ICDP-related data will be provided within the following thematic areas: micropaleontology, petrology, elemental and isotope geochemistry, paleomagnetism, stratigraphy/lithology, structural geology, borehole geophysics and site survey. This structured and accessible scientific dataset will represent a milestone for further implementation following FAIR data principles and best practices for ongoing and future drilling projects. Further developments of this digital archive might also serve as an additional tool to be integrated within the SPARCs initiative of IODP3.

In the framework of the INGV–Pianeta Dinamico research theme TIFEHO (Trachytic Ignimbrites magma-chambers Formation and Evolution in the pre-HOlocene history of the Campania volcanic area), whose main goal is to understand the growth and evolution of the deep magmatic feeding system prior to high magnitude eruptions of the Neapolitan volcanic area, a deep scientific drilling has been performed, down to 113.2 m below the ground level, in the Ponti Rossi area, north of Naples (Italy). The drilling site was chosen for three main reasons: 1) it is external to any proposed Campi Flegrei (CF) caldera rim, topographic or structural scarp and downthrown area; 2) the surface geological record consists of a stratigraphic succession including several pyroclastic units sandwiched between the products of the 39.2 ka Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption at the base and the 15 ka Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) eruption at the top, representing the two largest explosive events of CF, responsible for the caldera formation; 3) a 96 m deep scientific drilling, carried out in the same site in the late 1990’s, retrieved a pre-CI succession composed of eleven pyroclastic units totalling 61.8 m. Results from a detailed stratigraphic investigation, coupled with the sedimentological and geochemical characterization of a total of seventy-seven samples collected throughout the sequence, highlight that the Ponti Rossi borehole retrieved a stratigraphic record in which the NYT deposits represent the shallowest sediments. An important result is the absence of the CI deposits as well as of any pyroclastic deposit belonging to the CI-NYT (39-15 ka) chronostratigraphic interval, testifying a prolonged phase of strong erosion preceding the NYT eruption. Most of the cored succession, directly underlying the NYT deposits, consists of a thick pyroclastic sequence, totalling 88.05 m and representing the 78% of the retrieved succession, attributed to volcanism older than CI. The stratigraphic investigation and the X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) of the cored sediments allowed to identify at least thirty-four pyroclastic units older than CI, having thickness between 0.13 and 21.5 m, separated by well-developed paleosols and/or reworked volcaniclastic deposits. This pyroclastic succession consists predominantly of massive to stratified, matrix-supported to fines-poor pyroclastic current deposits, both magmatic and phreatomagmatic, and minor coarse- to fine-grained fall deposits. The features of several units (e.g., coarseness, lithic enrichment, considerable thickness) are compatible with a proximal vent while a number of units could be intermediate to distal tephra layers, some of which sourced from the Island of Ischia as highlighted by the available geochemical data. The retrieved stratigraphic record suggests the occurrence of a remarkable explosive activity >40 ka, the study of which will allow the achievement of a better knowledge of the magmatic systems feeding the volcanic activity of Neapolitan volcanoes.

Super-eruptions disperse volcanic ash over vast areas, impacting the environment and human health. Fine ash, particularly its respirable fraction (< 4 µm), poses a significant health hazard by inhalation due to its high dispersal potential. Understanding the aerodynamic properties but also composition of ash particles is fundamental to constrain dispersal and deposition mechanisms in both proximal and distal environments. Current atmospheric dispersal models rely on empirical drag equations calibrated with geometric shape descriptors. However, these models often overlook the effects of the actual particle density, as a uniform componentry is typically assumed. In addition, particles have variable shapes but such data from super-eruptions remains limited and no standardized measurement methods exist. Here, we determine the terminal fall velocity ( v t ) of fine ash from the Campanian Ignimbrite super-eruption (~ 40 ka, Campi Flegrei), by evaluating the components and particle shapes from proximal to ultra-distal locations. To verify the attribution of the proximal sample to the CI eruption, a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating was performed, allowing its correlation with the ultra-distal deposits. Results show that, due to the influence of shape and density, glass particles exhibit lower v t compared to mineral phases ( v t , feldspar / v t , glass = 1.05 ± 0.03, v t , SiO2 / v t , glass = 1.09 ± 0.02), enabling greater travel distances. Drag equations accounting for measured particle shapes differ significantly from spherical approximations. The spherical model overestimation of v t highlights the necessity of shape-specific models to produce more accurate dispersal predictions. Extremely low v t (< 0.1 cm/s) for respirable ash fraction, which indicates prolonged atmospheric suspension and long-time resuspension potential, along with the presence of cristobalite, lead to important implications for health hazards. These findings further enhance our understanding of volcanic ash aerodynamic behaviour and the far-reaching impact of super-eruptions .

The southern Apennine chain ranks among Europe's regions with the highest historical seismicity, yet its seismogenic structures remain poorly defined or completely unknown, including those of highly destructive Mw similar to 7.0, 1456 and 1688 Sannio earthquakes, which are examined in this study. Using a multi-scale, interdisciplinary approach - combining detailed field investigations (stratigraphic, geomorphological, structural, and paleoseismological analyses), tephrochronological and OSL dating, and reassessment of macroseismic intensity distribution from archival sources - this study identifies a possible source for these earthquakes. It corresponds to a similar to 45 km normal fault system composed by two main branches (Eastern Calore Fault and Western Calore Fault) with primary segments trending E-W to ESE-WNW and dipping N- to NNE. Segments extend along the southern border of both eastern and western Calore River sub-basins and are partially connected by NNW-SSE to N-S trending, east-dipping, transfer zone fault splays. Although the morphostructural evidence of Quaternary tectonic activity is unevenly expressed in both sub-basins, they share a similar Middle Pleistocene-to-Holocene morpho-sedimentary evolution, suggesting a common driving factor, ascribable to the sub-coeval activity of the fault segments delimiting both sub-basins. On a short-time scale, this study provides the first evidence of a post-14 ka occurrence of a paleoearthquake with a surface displacement greater than or similar to 0.7 m, as well as of a decametric off-set affecting post-9 ka sediments. These coseismic surface ruptures have an estimated recurrence time of approximately 1400 years, with the two more recent events likely corresponding to the Mw similar to 7.0, 1456 and 1688 Sannio earthquakes. Further detailed paleoseismological investigations are recommended to uncover direct evidence of co-seismic displacement linked to the 1456, 1688, and earlier earthquakes.

The AMUSED project (A MUltidisciplinary Study of past global climatE changes from continental and marine archives in the MeDiterranean region, https://progetti.ingv.it/index.php/it/amused) aims at improving knowledge of middle-late Quaternary climate variability by integrating paleoclimate multi-proxy data acquired in different geological settings of the Mediterranean region. In this context, we investigate the Castiglione maar, Colli Albani volcanic district in central Italy, for acquiring a high-resolution and geochronologically well-constrained multi-proxy record of the lacustrine succession. After geophysical exploration, two parallel 116 m- and 126.5 m-long sediment successions were recovered from the central sector of the basin. The sedimentary infilling mainly consists of fine sand, silt and clay, with minor gravel intervals and numerous tephras mostly deriving from explosive eruptions of the Roman Province volcanoes such as Mt. Vulsini, Vico, Mt. Sabatini and Alban Hills. More than fifty visible volcanic layers were identified and used, together with some lithostratigraphic features, for correlating the two parallel cores and build up a composite sediment section of 131.2 m in length. The geochemical fingerprinting of some key tephra layers allowed to establish a preliminary chronological framework for the Castiglione succession spanning the last 365 ka, with a mean sedimentation rate of 0.33 mm/yr. High resolution X-ray Fluorescence scanning was acquired at 2.5 mm intervals on the composite section and will be used, along with preliminary results from total inorganic and organic carbon, δ18O-δ14C and ostracods analyses, for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

In the retro-wedge side of a mountain chain undergoing back-arc extension, the progressive development of the fluvial network is controlled by the interaction of the uplift of the orogen, the activity of tectonic structures, and the climate. Many studies have evidenced the continuous competition between the activity of the normal faults that generate intermontane basins and rivers that incise and erode headward. Less attention has been paid to the role of the extensional structures that border the basins at the foot of the orogen and close to the base level (the back-arc basin) in the development of the hydrography draining their footwall. Could these structures influence or even prevent the integration of the fluvial network into the retro-wedge side of an uplifting orogen? To answer to this question, we studied the Aniene R., a tributary of the Tiber R. that drains the western side of the central Apennines (Italy). Studying the geometry of the topography and hydrography of its basin, surveying some key areas, dating deposits, and inverting its longitudinal profile, we reconstructed the landscape evolution of the drainage basin. In particular, we provide new evidence on the involvement of the structures bordering the low-standing extensional basins in the drainage development. Indeed, the flexural uplift of their footwall can hamper their flow down to the base level closing temporary the upstream drainage basin and so influencing the alternating phases of erosion and deposition controlled by uplift and climate.

The Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) is among the most productive volcanoes of the Mediterranean area. However, the volcanic history preceding the VEI 7 Campanian Ignimbrite eruption (~40 ka) is still poorly constrained. Here, we use a tephra dispersal model to reconstruct the eruption source parameters of the Maddaloni/X-6 eruption (~109 ka), one of the most widespread Late Pleistocene Mediterranean marker tephra from Campi Flegrei. Our results suggest that the eruption was characterized by an early Plinian phase involving ~6 cubic kilometers (within the range of 3–21 cubic kilometers) of magma, followed by a co-ignimbrite phase erupting ~148 cubic kilometers (range of 60–300 cubic kilometers). This ranks the Maddaloni/X-6 as a high-magnitude (M7.6) eruption, resulting at least as the second largest known event from Campi Flegrei. This study provides insights into the capability of the Campi Flegrei magmatic system to repeatedly generate large explosive eruptions, which has broad implications for hazard assessment in the central Mediterranean area. Maddaloni/X-6 was a high-magnitude eruption, the second largest event at Campi Flegrei. The eruption had an early Plinian and a co-ignimbrite phase, according to volcanological inverse modelling used to reconstruct the past explosive volcanism at Campi Flegrei.

The site of Casal Lumbroso is located in the north-west sector of Rome (central Italy). Stratigraphic and geochemical data presented here evidence that the archaeological and paleontological horizon lies at the top of the Tiber River aggradational succession related to the MIS 11c sea level highstand (dated at ca. 404 ka), and that the paleohabitat was characterised by wooded environments and humid climatic conditions. Paleontological analysis allows attributing most of the remains to an adult individual of straight-tusked elephant, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, with sporadic elements referred to Stephanorhinus sp., Bovinae, Cervinae, Cervus elaphus, Dama sp., Canis sp., Oryctolagus sp., Talpa sp., Testudines, and Amphibia. Two bird remains are referred to Anatidae and Strigiformes. A rich lithic assemblage, mainly made of flint, was also found associated with the fossil remains. Taphonomic, technological and functional analyses indicate that the P. antiquus carcass was probably exploited by humans not only as a food source, but also as a source of raw material, as documented by the presence of several intentionally fractured elephant bone fragments, some of them also with flake removals, with localized use wear traces. The findings at Casal Lumbroso highlight once again the importance of the territory around the city of Rome for Middle Pleistocene studies. The northwestern sector of the city, where other important sites such as Castel di Guido and La Polledrara di Cecanibbio have also been discovered, is therefore crucial for understanding human strategies for exploiting elephant carcasses.