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A new structural–stratigraphic synthesis of the Apennine units of northern Calabria is presented. The Meso-Cenozoic successions are grouped into two tectonic units, named Pollino–Ciagola Unit (PCU) and Lungro–Verbicaro Unit (LVU), comprising terrains formerly attributed to five different tectonic units. Fe Mg carpholite and blue amphibole record HP–LT metamorphism in the LVU, followed by progressive decompression leading to final greenschist facies re-equilibration during dominantly extensional deformation. Final tectonic emplacement of the LVU over the PCU post-dated the metamorphism of the LVU and was accompanied by intense ductile deformation along zones of strain localisation in footwall rocks. All of the units were later affected by folding and minor thrusting during subsequent Apennine tectonics. To cite this article: A. Iannace et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).

Field, petrographic and quantitative strain analysis have been performed on highly foliated limestones outcropping in northern Calabria and generally attributed to two distinct units (San Donato and Pollino) on the basis of presence/absence of metamorphism. The deformation, however, is comparable in all the studied outcrops indicating that the widely accepted distinction of units in the area should be revised. Deformation is very localized in narrow ductile shear-zones affecting Tertiary conglomerates and Jurassic oncoidal packstones. The former are more strained because of their closeness to siliciclastic beds. The main deformation mechanism was grain boundary sliding with minor intragranular strain and pressure solution. To cite this article: A. Iannace, S. Vitale, C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).