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FieldtripGuidebooks
Last update: 20/07/2004
During-Congress Field Trips
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D01 - SIENA (CENTRAL ITALY): URBAN GEOLOGY, ART AND
HISTORY OF A MEDIEVAL HILLTOP TOWN AND ITS BOTTINI (UNDERGROUND
AQUEDUCT) AND MONUMENTAL FOUNTAINS
A. Costantini
& I.P. Martini
Siena is one of the best-preserved medieval towns of Tuscany. It is
located on a hilltop of porous shoreface Pliocene sands surrounded
by offshore clays. Siena became an important town in early medieval
times (1100-1500 AD) because it was located on a major "pilgrim"
road to Rome - Via Francigena. It suffered from a lack of readily
available water and continuous conflicts with neighbouring
Florence. The city built a 25km-long network of underground tunnels
(the "Bottini"; aqueduct), which collected water from small springs
and brought it to public fountains and wells inside the walled
town. The field trip will show, in outcrops and underground (a rare
opportunity to visit the Bottini), a complete sedimentological
shoreface succession from offshore clays, to shoreface
fossiliferous sands and gravels, to lagoonal deposits, and how the
magnificent engineering structure of the underground aqueduct was
built with primitive tools. We will also visit monumental fountains
and other edifices throughout the town.
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D02 - KARST AND PALEOENVIRONMENTS OF THE SIENA AREA
(CENTRAL ITALY)
V. Pascucci, L. Dallai, G.
Biancardi, D. Manganelli,V. Pascucci & R.
Tracchini
This field trip is dedicated to the analysis
of some karsts features near Siena, which possibly developed during
the last ice age in Triassic limestone (Calcare Cavernoso). These
limestones crop out North-East of Siena (Mt Maggio). Several
relatively small lakes have formed in karst depressions in the
area. The lakes allowed the establishment of several communities
since the Iron Age (Villanovian) and represented an important
economic asset during the Middle Ages. Villages such as
Monteriggioni, Abbadia Isola, and S. Leonardo al Lago developed
owing to the presence of these lakes. Most of these lakes were
drained artificially in the late 17th century and the economy,
landscape and climate of the Siena area changed drastically. The
field trip will visit some of the best caves and other karst
features of the area, the last lake to be drained (Pian del Lago),
its drainage system and, finally, two well-preserved fortified
medieval villages (Monteriggioni and Abbadia Isola).
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D03 - FIELD SIGHT NEAR RAPOLANO TERME (SIENA,TUSCANY)
-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECTONICS AND FLUID
CIRCULATION
M. Guerra & A. Raschi
This field trip will focus on the relationship between structural
features (Rapolano fault, Arbia line) and the circulation of fluids
(gas and water) over an area with a thick clay sequence. The
concept of the impermeability of the clay sequence will be reviewed
and considered on the basis of the key-concepts of "faulted clays",
"fluid pressure", and "channelling phenomena". Macroscopic vents of
water and gas will be seen penetrating up to hundreds of meters of
clay. These observations should be taken into account when dealing
with clay basins in applied fields (e.g. as waste
repositories).
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D04 - GEOSCIENCE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE SAFEGUARD IN
FLORENCE
P. Canuti, R. Fanti, P. Malsani & E. Pecchioni
The
main objective of this excursion will be to introduce the
international scientific community to the main problems that the
geosciences face in the preservation of monuments and other
cultural heritage sites. Florence offers a wide spectrum of
problems to be studied with a multi-disciplinary approach, ranging
from geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, structural
geology, petrography and mineralogy. The effects of weathering
processes on monument preservation and problems concerning
restoration work are the main topics that will be discussed in the
visit to the historic center of the city. Slope instability
conditions associated with landslides and cliff failures will be
the aim of the tour of the San Miniato hill, the instability of
which was first recognized by Leonardo da Vinci.
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D05 - WALKING THROUGH DOWNTOWN ROMA.A DISCOVERY TOUR
ON THE KEY ROLE OF GEOLOGY IN THE HISTORY AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF
THE CITY
R. Funiciello, G. Giordano, B. Adanti, C. Giampaolo & M.
Parotto
The Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Celian,
Capitoline, Palatine, and Aventine hills have been important in the
mythology and history of this complex city. The Roman landscape was
shaped during the deposition of hundreds of cubic kilometers of
volcanic ash and pumice, produced mainly by the Alban Hills
volcano, which covered the future site of Rome. These geological
features are the setting for the development of Roman culture and
civilization. The periphery of the ignimbrite plateau, in proximity
to the river, was eroded to form small, isolated hills that were
easily adapted for shelter and human settlement. Local climatic and
hydrological conditions at the future site of Rome were
particularly favorable for rapid incision of the ignimbrite
deposits to form valleys along which there are outcrops that allow
a glimpse of the geological structure underlying the city. The
purpose of this one-day walking itinerary, will be to understand
the connection between geology and the city's evolution from
ancient to recent times.
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D06 - GEOLOGICAL FEATURES AND THE HISTORICAL AND
ARTISTIC HERITAGE OF VITERBO, CITY OF POPES, EMPERORS AND
THERMOMINERAL WATER
U. Chiocchini, A. Lanconelli
& S. Madonna
The city of Viterbo is situated on the northwestern slopes of the
Cimini Mountains (Latium Region) and its gently dipping landscape
was shaped during the huge, mainly ignimbritic explosive eruption
of the Cimini - Vicano Pleistocene volcanic district. This field
trip will allow participants to observe the internals of the main
products of the volcanic activity. The surrounding areas are also
characterized either by springs of thermomineral water, utilized
since ancient Roman times for therapeutic purposes, or by quarries
of a particular lithified gray tuff locally known as "peperino".
Viterbo boasts of an important historical and artistic heritage
since it is one of the best preserved medieval cities of Latium.
Today we can still see the formidable walls and buildings
constructed between the XII and XIII centuries. The city is
situated along the main medieval road between the North and Rome -
the Francigena Way -- traveled by pilgrims and German emperors -
and was disputed for a long time between popes and emperors, who
left several traces in the city.
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D07 - THE RIETI INTERMOUNTAIN BASIN AND S.FRANCESCO D
'ASSISI
C. Carrara, L. Ferreli, L. Guerrieri &
L. Serva
This field trip will aim at showing the
Quaternary evolution of the intermountain Rieti Basin (Central
Apennines) under extensional tectonics, climatic variations and
human activities. The interaction among these factors during the
Quaternary triggered continuous and rapid landscape modifications,
such as the Holocene filling of the Rieti basin (30 to 50 meters)
or the almost complete draining of the Lacus Velinus (a lake larger
than 90 km2) under the Roman hydraulics works. The singularity of
the natural landscape, characterized by Le Marmore Falls and other
geomorphic features (fluvial terraces) shaped by travertine
deposition, attracted human settlements since as early as the
Bronze Age. Moreover, the presence of the places where St. Francis
of Assisi lived and prayed enhance the spiritual magnificence of
the area. The itinerary will provide basic elements for
comprehending the role played by natural and human factors in the
geomorphological evolution of the Rieti Basin and, at the same
time, will include a visit to the sanctuaries of St. Francis of
Assisi.
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D08 - APENNINE TUNNELING WORKS: IMPACTS ON THE SURFACE
AND UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES
G. Rodolfi, S. Rossi, A. Doni & L. Ranfagni
This
field trip will deal with the important changes in the
hydrogeological and hydrological features resulting from one of the
most important tunnelling works currently in progress in Italy. On
the Tuscan part of the Bologna-Florence section the new high-speed
railway will include 6 mainline tunnels (of which three exceed 15
kms in length) and also 14 kms of servicing tunnels, the so-called
"windows". The line will cross the Apennines which is difficult
from a geological point of view and also highly sensitive from an
environmental point of view. It is characterized by fairly steep
mountain relief with maximum heights being around 1,000/1,100
meters a.s.l. The field trip will proceed along the most important
geological and hydrogeological features of this portion of the
Apennine chain, following the development of the underground works
and the most important impacts on rivers and groundwater. During
the trip a reconstruction will be made of the stratigraphic
sequences and the tectonic settings along a regional geological
section integrating the surface information with data derived from
tunneling works. The trip will move through the wonderful
landscapes of the Tuscan Apennines and the Mugello plain without
forgetting the local gastronomic delicacies.
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D09 - CRUISING ALONG DEFORMED ADRIA CONTINENTAL MARGIN
AND TETHYS ROCKS (LA SPEZIA,CINQUE TERRE, LIGURIAN SEA,CENTRAL
ITALY)
M. Papini & P. Vannucchi
The sea
cliffs of the Cinque Terre expose a scenic geological cross-section
through the Jurassic to Miocene units of the Adria continental
margin (Tuscan Nappe), the Tethys sedimentary successions and ocean
crust (Ligurids and Ophiolites suite, Jurassic to Paleogene). This
field trip will offer an outstanding view of both the sedimentary
evolution in the different paleoceanographic settings and of their
deformation in the Apennine orogenic belt. The cruise is contingent
on sea conditions. An alternative itinerary across the La Spezia
mountains will provide the opportunity to examine the same units on
land.
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