GeolCarp_Vol68_No1_6

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, FEBRUARY 2017, 68, 1, 6 – 18

doi: 10.1515/geoca-2017-0001

www.geologicacarpathica.com

Pliocene –Pleistocene geomorphological evolution

of the Adriatic side of Central Italy

BERNARDINO GENTILI

, GILBERTO PAMBIANCHI

, DOMENICO ARINGOLI

MARCO MATERAZZI



and MARCO GIACOPETTI

School of Architecture and Design, University of Camerino, Italy

School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, Italy;



marco.materazzi@unicam.it

(Manuscript received December 10, 2015; accepted in revised form November 30, 2016)

Abstract: This work is a significant contribution to knowledge of the Quaternary and pre-Quaternary morphogenesis of

a wide sector of central Italy, from the Apennine chain to the Adriatic Sea. The goal is achieved through a careful analysis

and interpretation of stratigraphic and tectonic data relating to marine and continental sediments and, mostly, through the

study of relict limbs of ancient landscapes (erosional surfaces shaped by prevailing planation processes). The most important

scientific datum is the definition of the time span in which the modelling of the oldest morphological element (the “summit

relict surface”) occurred: it started during Messinian in the westernmost portion and after a significant phase during

middle-late Pliocene, ended in the early Pleistocene. During the middle and late Pleistocene, the rapid tectonic uplift of

the area and the climate fluctuations favoured the deepening of the hydrographic network and the genesis of three orders

of fluvial terraces, thus completing the fundamental features of the landscape. The subsequent Holocene evolution

reshaped the minor elements, but not the basic ones.

Keywords: planation surfaces, marine sediments, continental deposits, Pliocene –Pleistocene, central Apennines,

Peri-Adriatic belt.

Introduction

This paper describes the landscape geomorphological evolu-

tion of the Apennine and the Peri-Adriatic belt of the Marche

region, through the analysis and interpretation of past and new

data from recent and detailed geological and geomorphologi-

cal analyses. This geomorphological “model” can be extended,

despite local and at times marked differences, even to the

neighbouring central-northern Abruzzi region sector (Fig. 1).

The study is focused to the Plio–Pleistocene geomorpho-

logical evolution, when the structuring of the fundamental fea-

tures of the present landscape took place. In fact, during the

Holocene, the origin and evolution of a rural and urban land-

scape, which represent the most important human impact on

the territory, did not change the fundamental features but only

the minor landforms.

The Umbria-Marche sector of the central Apennine ridge

represents, because of its unique and continuous lithostrati-

graphic sequences and the particular “exposures” of tectonic

elements, a territorial unit of great scientific interest. Analysis

and interpretation of the geological setting, mostly carried out

in the last forty years, reached a high level of detail. Neverthe-

less, Quaternary and pre-Quaternary morphogenesis, espe-

cially for the Pliocene–Pleistocene period, is still poorly

known, mostly concerning time and manner of the main

morpho-evolutive stages as well as the role played by the

various control factors.

The oldest geomorphological elements in the study area

consist of several generations of low-relief erosion surfaces:

the most ancient ones, generally pre-Quaternary in age,

characterize the mountain ridges, while the hilly reliefs are the

youngest. These elements, whose genesis and evolution has

been attributed to different planation processes, have been

recognized by several authors in all parts of the Italian penin-

sula (Demangeot 1965; Bernini et al. 1977; Bartolini 1980;

Sestini 1981; Calamita et al. 1982; Ciccacci et al. 1985;

Brancaccio et al. 1991; Dramis et al. 1991; Veneri et al. 1991;

Dramis 1992; Nesci et al. 1992; Calamita et al. 1994; Bosi et

al. 1996; Chiarini et al. 1997; Amato & Cinque 1999; Calamita

et al. 1999; Gentili & Pambianchi 1999; Coltorti & Pieruccini

2000; Schiattarella et al. 2003; Della Seta et al. 2008).

During the Quaternary this “smooth” landscape underwent

deep changes as a result of a strong tectonic uplift. The associa-

ted tectonic elements with prevalent extensional kinematics

(mainly NW–SE and WSW–ENE oriented) created tectonic

basins, slope deformations and hydrographic network setup.

The coeval and marked climatic oscillations and the alterna-

tion of fluvial and marine erosion /sedimentation phases,

induced several processes (Calamita et al. 1982; Gentili &

Pambianchi 1987; Coltorti et al. 1991; Nesci & Savelli 1991;

Calamita et al. 1994; Coltorti & Farabollini1995; Coltorti et al.

1996; Fanucci et al. 1996; Cello et al. 1997; Calamita et al.

1999; Nesci et al. 2002; Aringoli et al. 2007, 2008, 2010;

Materazzi et al. 2010; Nesci et al. 2012; Aringoli et al. 2014):

• the partial filling of the tectonic basins due to the deposi-

tion of powerful lacustrine and fluvial-lacustrine sedi-

ments, including clays and gravels, sometimes alternating

with thin layers of volcanic ash;

GENTILI, PAMBIANCHI, ARINGOLI, MATERAZZI and GIACOPETTI

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, 2017, 68, 1, 6 – 18

The following are associated with the intense deepening of

the hydrographic network:

• wide and deep phenomena (even though without clear

diagnostic elements) induced by gravitational tectonics;

• deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD)

and landslides..

The chronology of the initial phase of landscape modelling,

as well as subsequent ones, is difficult using only geomorpho-

logical data; integrating and comparing data from tectonic-

sedimentary studies is therefore fundamental.

Geological and geomorphological setting

The Umbria-Marche Apennines consist of two different

ridges that merge to the south, creating the Sibillini Mountains

massif (Fig. 1); a short description of the stratigraphic type

sequence, mainly based on the stratigraphic schemes worked

out by M. Chiocchini, P. Didaskalou, A. Micarelli and M.

Potetti as part of the projects aimed at compiling the Geo-

logical Map of the Marche Region (Centamore et al. 1986;

Regione Marche 2001; Pierantoni et al. 2013) will be given

next.

The base is given by the “Calcare massiccio” formation

(Early Jurassic), a thick calcareous complex, approximately

700 m thick, disarticulated into a “horst and graben” system

by the Jurassic extensional tectonics. The “Corniola”, “Bosso”

and “Calcari diasprigni” formations (Early Jurassic–Late

Jurassic) are visible above, corresponding to the deepest sec-

tors, with an overall thickness of more than 500 m. On the

other hand, a condensed succession of variable thickness (less

than 50 m) corresponds to the structural “highs”. It is mainly

composed of nodular and marly limestones belonging to the

“Bugarone” formation (Early Jurassic). The “Maiolica” for-

mation (Early Jurassic–Late Cretaceous), present on the top of

both sequences and composed of prevalently micritic lime-

stones, filled the seabed, followed by the “Marne a fucoidi”

(Late Cretaceous) and the “Scaglia group” (Palaeocene–

Eocene) calcareous and marly calcareous formations, with

a total thickness often exceeding 300 metres. The “Scaglia

cinerea”, “Bisciaro”, “Schlier”, “Marne con Cerrogna” and

“Marne a Pteropodi

”

marly formations with interbedded calc-

arenites (Eocene–Miocene), are present above, with a total

thickness of about 200 metres.

Associations of turbiditic and pelitic-sandstones (Messi-

nian), outcrop between the two calcareous ridges and along

the eastern flank of the Marchean ridge.

The Peri-Adriatic belt, more to the east, is instead characte-

rized by pelitic and sandy-conglomeratic turbidites, belonging

to the marine “Pliocene–Pleistocene sedimentary cycle”

(Fig. 1) (Cantalamessa et al. 1986).

On a regional scale the structural setting is constituted by:

• anticline folds involving Mesozoic–Miocene units;

• syncline folds in the turbiditic sediments;

• east-verging monoclinalic structures involving the

Peri-Adriatic turbidites.

This “schematic” structural setting is complicated by the

presence of several east-verging thrusts which caused the

overlapping of various levels of the sedimentary succession

and the resulting genesis of the Umbria-Marche Apennine

(Calamita & Deiana 1988; Mazzoli et al. 2005; Pierantoni et

al. 2013). The genesis is associated with the intense Oligo-

cene–Miocene compressive tectonics (active until the Plio-

cene), in the outermost sector (Bally et al. 1986; Deiana &

Pialli 1994; Calamita et al. 2012; Di Domenica et al. 2012)

and to wide-ranging vertical movements, not related to the

structural setting of bedrock (Dufaure et al. 1989; Dramis

1992). Normal faults with NW–SE trend, connected to a gene-

ralized tectonic uplift and the associated extensional phase

(with maximum during the early and mid-Pleistocene)

(Demangeot 1965; Ambrosetti et al. 1982; Coltorti et al. 1991;

Mazzoli et al. 2005) are mainly superimposed on the previous

compressive structures: as a consequence, they generated,

along the chain and its Tyrrhenian side, wide tectonic basins,

tiered lowering of the relict surface, and tectonic-gravitational

phenomena (Calamita et al. 1994; Gentili & Pambianchi 1994;

Materazzi et al. 2014). Less frequent SSW–NNE faults, on the

other hand, generated topographic “undulations” (Dramis et

al. 1991) outlining three main transversal “ridges” (Fig. 2).

The physical landscape is therefore characterized by a strict

conformity between the main geomorphological elements and

the overall geological setting. In fact, structural “highs” corre-

spond to morphological highs (i.e. reliefs with maximum ele-

vation around 2500 m a.s.l.), while structural “lows” (i.e.

tectonic basins) correspond to elongated depressions; the

Peri-Adriatic monocline, incised by the main river valleys,

corresponds to typical triangular hilly reliefs with the top facing

west. On a larger scale such conformity is complicated by the

aforementioned transversal “ridges” (which give rise to cliffs

along the coast) and by scarps and benches along the valley

floors created by the emplacement of four main orders of flu-

vial terraces (Middle Pleistocene–Holocene) (Coltorti et al.

1991; Gentili & Pambianchi 1987; Nesci et al. 2012).

Results and discussion

Geological and geomorphological data

Geological data related to the Miocene–Pliocene tectonic

and sedimentary evolution are fundamental for the reconstruc-

tion of the evolutional stages of the continental landscape of

central Italy (Centamore & Deiana 1986; Boccaletti et al.

1986; Centamore & Micarelli 1991; Cantalamessa & Di

Celma 2004). During the Messinian the westernmost areas,

Tuscany and Umbria, emerge progressively, according to a

thrust belt mechanism (Fig. 3).

In the foredeep area, placed immediately to the east (Marche

sector), the turbiditic sedimentation, occurred in narrow

basins, elongated in a NW–SE direction.

During the Middle and Late Messinian, simultaneously with

the “salinity crisis” of the Mediterranean (Cita 1976;

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE ADRIATIC SIDE OF CENTRAL ITALY

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, 2017, 68, 1, 6 – 18

Centamore & Deiana 1986; Wezel 1994; Butler et al. 1995),

continental areas have grown at the edges of the primordial

Tuscany-Umbria Apennines. The intense compressional tec-

tonics, as well as producing a general seabed uplifting, locally

created narrow and shallow basins and structural highs, bor-

dered by NW–SE and SSW–NNE faults: the latter, affecting

the morphology of the seabed (with the formation of subma-

rine valleys), generated preferential pathways for turbiditic

flows coming from the west. These flows filled the above

mentioned basins, where coarse materials (arenaceous peb-

bles) produced after the initial dismantling of the calcareous

ridge were deposited. Contributions to such deposition also

came from local fluvial sediments produced by the erosion of

the Bisciaro and Schlier marly formations, which were out-

cropping on the first emerged areas of the Umbria-Marche

ridge (Fig. 3). During this period continental erosion became

particularly intense in relation to the intense compressional

tectonics and to the humid climate conditions connected with

the volcanic activity of the period (Centamore & Micarelli

1991; Wezel 1994).

The subsequent Plio–Pleistocene marine sedimentation is

very complex and variable in time and space in relation to tec-

tonic events that influenced morphology and sedimentation.

At the beginning of the Pliocene the Apennine chain continued

its progressively eastward structuring, forming the Umbria-

Marche and Marche ridges and the depression in between

(Fig. 1).

In the northern sector, the depositional sequence within

basins articulated by the synsedimentary tectonics, is given

by clays, passing upwards to sandy turbidites. The “Val

Fig. 2. DEM of the study area with indication of the main transversal ridges, and corresponding sea-cliffs and drainages.

GENTILI, PAMBIANCHI, ARINGOLI, MATERAZZI and GIACOPETTI

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, 2017, 68, 1, 6 – 18

Marecchia gravitational flow” (varicoloured clays, Ligurides)

fills one of these basins; on the top fan-delta pebbles, coming

from the flow itself and referring to end of the lower Pliocene/

beginning of the middle Pliocene time span and to a 500m-deep

environment, are deposited. In other cases, the sequence top is

characterized by conglomerates conveyed in the basin depres-

sions and resulting from fan-delta deposit remobilization of

the Po river domain (Veneri 1986). The sediments of the mid-

dle-late Pliocene are mainly clayey and generally of limited

extension.

Likewise, in the central sector, the Pliocene deposits have

limited overall extension and exhibit clayey facies of a bathyal

environment.

In the southern area (between the Tenna and Tesino rivers),

arenaceous-conglomeratic beach deposits, related to the mid-

dle Pliocene transgression, overlap the pelitic-arenaceous

facies of the Laga formation (Messinian). This contact is

marked by a sharp erosion surface that truncates the Messinian

sediments and, more in detail, it is tilted eastward by 15–20°

as a result of the aforementioned upper Pliocene compressive

tectonics and the subsequent uplifting. This surface is still

present and observable 10–12 km eastward of the Apennine

ridge, where it is “protected” by the transgressive sediments.

Originally it extended to the ridge, where it probably cut the

Miocene sediments of the Umbria-Marche Succession (cur-

rently absent at the top of the relief), and had a sub-horizontal

trend: in fact, the strata of the overlying transgressive sedi-

ments are approximately parallel to the surface itself; even the

original extension to the west of these sediments would be

much greater than today (Fig. 4) (Gentili et al. 1995).

The genesis of such stratigraphic discontinuities is to be

associated with the intense Pliocene compressive tectonics

(which completed the emergence of the Apennine chain and of

the Messinian turbidites), and the concomitant arid-warm or

subtropical-humid climatic conditions, both favourable to

peneplanation processes (Denny 1967; Butzer 1976; Centamore

& Deiana 1986). Marine erosion, significantly contributed to

the genesis of this surface: this period, in fact, corresponds to

the highest level reached by the sea between the Messinian

and the Holocene, as a consequence of ice caps thawing (Cen-

tamore & Deiana 1986; Haq et al. 1987; Bigi et al. 1995).

Because no traces of mid-Pliocene sediments and surface ero-

sion have been observed along the Apennine ridge it can be

assumed that they have been “erased” during the subsequent

phase of erosion.

The middle and upper Pliocene sedimentation continues

with shelf-to-bathial clays, thicker eastward, with interspersed

conglomeratic levels (submarine fans), mainly consisting of

calcarenitic clasts; marly calcareous and arenaceous pebbles

are in fact very rare (Cantalamessa et al. 1986; Centamore &

Deiana 1986; Coltorti et al. 1991). Pebbly deposits of clearly

fluvial origin, originated from the Apennines or, subordinately,

from neighbouring ridges (“Montagna dei Fiori” and Gran

Sasso massifs) and were transported within the basin through

transversal channels already active in earlier times (Cantala-

messa et al. 1986; Bigi et al. 1995; Gentili et al. 1998).

Areal differences also occur in marine Pleistocene sedi-

ments. In the northern and central sectors the base of the early

Pleistocene, is given by clays and sands deposited in a 500m-

deep environment, on which Sicilian conglomeratic lenses are

Fig. 3. Palaeogeographic reconstruction of central Italy during Messinian, with first emerged areas of the Umbria-Marche ridge.

GENTILI, PAMBIANCHI, ARINGOLI, MATERAZZI and GIACOPETTI

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Umbria-Marche Apennines, are absent in the whole Peri-

Adriatic belt, up to the base of the middle Pliocene. Later,

during the middle Pliocene and mainly in the late Pliocene, the

deposition of conglomeratic bodies mainly constituted by cal-

careous pebbles occurred only in the southern Marche region.

In this area, which is the most tectonically uplifted, and for

the time span considered it can be assumed that erosion pro-

cesses mainly involved the marly-calcarenitic units (Scaglia

cinerea, Bisciaro, Schlier, Marne con Cerrogna and Marne a

Pteropodi formations), that were still covering most of the

Apennine ridges. The Pliocene sedimentation, in fact, in

agreement with the lithological composition of the above

mentioned units, is mostly constituted by a prevailing pelitic

component, while the clastic deposits represent not more than

10 %. The volumes are also certainly comparable. The marly-

calcarenitic units could provide about 4/5 of the middle-upper

Pliocene sediments. The remaining fraction is attributable to

contributions from erosion of the oldest units (“Scaglia” for-

mations), by river valleys probably set on ancient turbiditic

flowlines which can be associated with the reduced presence

of marly-calcareous clasts within conglomeratic levels.

The erosion of the Laga Formation, outcropping between the

basin and the chain, is linked to the deposition of the arena-

ceous bodies of the early middle Pliocene, of the sandy levels

and of the rare arenaceous pebbles within the conglomeratic

pebbles.

The early Pleistocene is marked by a strong marine regres-

sion, similar to that of the middle Messinian and probably

associa ted with the same arid-cold clima tic conditions (Denny

1967; Butzer 1976; Haq et al. 1987; Bull 1992). The associa-

ted intense areal erosion processes produced: i) the removal of

the westernmost transgressive sediments, the further dismant-

ling of the Laga Formation below, down to the pre-eva poritic

levels in the innermost areas; ii) the final dismantling of the

marly-calcarenitic units and part of the “Scaglia” formations:

in the Sibillini Mountains, but also in the most elevated areas

of the ridge, the erosion reached the base of the Scaglia rosata

or, sometimes, the top of the Maiolica; iii) planation surfaces

close to the tops of the highest hilly relief in the Peri-Adriatic

belt, while further east, along the coast, marine sedimentation

was ending (Gentili et al. 1998), (Fig. 5).

Continental landforms

When the tectonic-sedimentary evolution described above

ended (Messinian–early Pleistocene), the fundamental mor-

phostructural fea tures of the landscape were already realized.

Subsequently, the sub-aerial model

ling processes, in

associa tion with the increasing tectonic activity, produced the

re-shaping of the landscape. The oldest traces are placed at or

near the top of the calcareous ridges and of the arena ceous

reliefs of the Apennines and consist of residual limbs of an

extensive wavy (locally flat) surface: the “summit relict sur-

face”. Younger limbs of smaller extent and belonging to other

two generations of surfaces are embedded in it: they also occur

in the hilly area, where they are also placed at the top of the

relief while in the coastal sector only the newer generation can

be detected (Fig. 6).

All these surfaces constituted a low-relief landscape charac-

terized by wide valleys, which later became home to important

subaerial depositional processes. Looking at the pedemoun-

tain areas in more detail, the deposition of wide alluvial fans

took place, giving rise to a process of relief inversion with

interfluves often very different from the current ones. The topo-

graphical location of the different planation surfaces, placed at

elevations higher than the alluvial deposits, allows us to date

back to prior of the Middle Pleistocene the last phase of

modelling of this landscape.

This “palaeotopography” was deformed by the tectonic

uplift of the area and by the transversal tectonic elements

(SSW–NNE faults) which have acted before, during and after

the construction of the Apennine chain (Boccaletti et al. 1986;

Fig. 5. Tectonic-sedimentary evolution during the Sicilian (early Pleistocene).

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Calamita & Deiana 1988; Dramis et al. 1991; Calamita et al.

1999). During the Quaternary the tectonic elements, by means

of differentiated vertical movements, created several trans-

versal morphostructures, indicated by clear N–S undulations

of the planation surfaces that are more accentuated in the older

ones. Same undulations can also be recognized in the oldest

alluvial deposits (early middle Pliocene) and in the Sicilian-

Crotonian sediments which closed the Pliocene–Pleistocene

cycle of deposition.

Three main SSW–NNE “ridges”, from the Apennine chain to

the Adriatic Sea, can be recognized: Mount Nerone–Pesaro, to

the north; Mount Penna–Cingoli–Mount Conero, in the centre;

Sibillini Mountains–Mount Ascensione–Porto San Giorgio, to

the south. The corresponding coastal sectors are characterized

by substantial cliffs, two of them active (Pesaro and Mount

Conero). The above “ridges” are separated by two “depres-

sions” incised by the centripetal hydrographic networks of Misa

and Nevola rivers in the central-northern sector and of Potenza

and Chienti rivers in the central-southern sector (Fig. 2).

The effects produced by the SSW–NNE faults on the “sum-

mit relict surface” located west of the culmination of the

ridge, are more evident. Stepwise benches with considerable

displacements (up to 1000 m) have been created: the same

areas are characterized by the presence of wide tectonic basins

(Colfiorito, Castelluccio, Norcia, Cascia), where the oldest

deposits date back to the beginning of the early Pleistocene

(Ficcarelli & Mazza 1990) (Fig. 7).

At the end of the Early Pliocene the “summit relict surface”

was probably articulated in two levels: It is therefore reaso-

nable to assume, for the end of the early Pleistocene, a “sum-

mit relict surface “ on two levels: the higher one, nearly the top

of the calcareous and marly-calcareous ridges of the Apen-

nines, with N–S altitudinal variations (Dramis et al. 1991 and

Dramis 1992); the lower one, carved in the marly-calcareous

lithotypes where wide primordial valleys formed and corre-

spond to the pre-evaporitic arenaceous facies of the Laga for-

mation and of the Pliocene–Pleistocene deposits. According to

Dramis (1992), despite the general prevalence of planation

processes, the landscape could have been modelled, under

favourable climate conditions, also by fluvial erosion.

The end of morphogenesis of the “summit relict surface”

due to areal erosion processes, was associated with the intense

tectonic uplift, which started at the end of the early Pleistocene

and continued during the Middle Pleistocene. The consequent

rapid deepening of the hydrographic network reached the

oldest calcareous formations. The combined action of tectonic

uplift and climate conditions favourable to areal erosion (Haq

et al. 1987; Bull 1992), produced wide valleys, which have left

evidence in the form of residual limbs of two generations of

“surfaces” encasing each other.

Moreover, starting from the middle of the Middle Pleisto-

cene, the interference between tectonic uplift and glacial and

interglacial phases has also produced three main orders of flu-

vial terraces attributed to the middle of the Middle Pleistocene,

Fig. 6. Block diagram showing the relationship among the different

continental landforms described in the text.

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end of Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleisto-

cene respectively (Coltorti et al. 1991; Nesci

& Savelli 1991; Cilla et al. 1996). The depo-

sition of these fluvial terraces marks the final

structuring of the landscape on a regional

scale (Fig. 8).

A further generation of fluvial deposits

(fourth order), mainly related to the intense

slope dynamics, can be recognized along the

valley floors: it is connected to intense agri-

cultural practices on the slopes themselves

carried out with alternate phases since

Roman times. These processes have also had

an impact on the river mouths (systemati-

cally transformed from modest estuaries to

limited deltas) and on the genesis of sandy-

pebbly beaches (Gentili & Pambianchi 1987;

Aringoli et al. 2007; Materazzi et al. 2010).

Conclusions

The data presented, allow us to draw syn-

thetic conclusions, also shown in Figs 3, 9

and 10.

Fig. 7. Sketch of the development of tectonic

basins described in the text (modified after

Calamita et al. 1982); a — relict surface; b — ini-

tial phase of extensional tectonics (early Pleisto-

cene); c — horst-graben morphology (middle

Pleistocene); d — sketch of the tectonic basins

and traces of cross-sections (see Fig. 2 for the

location).

Fig. 8. Type cross-sections along some Marchean rivers with the relationship between different orders of alluvial terraces.

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• The Middle and Late Messinian (Fig. 3) is

characterized by the uplifting of the conti-

nental areas of Tuscany and Umbria and the

initial outcrop chain Umbria-Marche.

• The end of the Early Pliocene (Fig. 9a) is

characterized by intense areal erosion pro-

cesses which produced planation surfaces

both in the Messinian and in the calcareous

marls of the Apennine chain. It is recogni-

zable only in the southern area, because it is

buried by the middle Pliocene sediments

(Fig. 4).

• During the Middle Pliocene (Fig. 9b) the

marine transgression favoured the reduc-

tion of continental areas while the planation

processes still affected the same lithotypes

of the previous phase; in the northern sector

the link between the Adriatic and Tuscan-

Umbria areas persists.

• In the Late Pliocene (Fig. 9c) areal erosion

reached calcareous and marly-calcareous

formations even though their outcrops are

limi ted. The beginning of the “summit

relict surface” modelling can be ascribed to

this period.

• In the Early Pleistocene (Fig. 9d), climate

conditions favourable to areal erosion led to

the final structuring of the “summit relict

surface”. The tectonic uplift caused the

deepe ning of the hydrographic network,

isolating the relict surface itself and gene-

rating secon dary “surfaces”. During this

phase, waves and dislocations of the “sum-

mit relict surface” and in particular the

opening of intramountain tectonic basins

occurred (Fig. 7).

• In the Middle-Late Pleistocene (Fig. 10)

the persistent tectonic uplift and intense

climate variations caused the definitive

deepening of the hydrographic network and

the genesis of several orders of fluvial

terraces.

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