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The new European Union animal health law and its rule concerning brucellosis in cattle and buffaloes The authors examine the latest European Union (EU) rules concerning eradication and surveillance of brucellosis and animal infectious diseases of EU concern. The Italian rules concerning brucellosis in cattle and buffaloes Italy is included in the EU co-financed compulsory eradication and surveillance programmes for brucellosis in cattle and in buffaloes in the frame of the EU and the related Italian laws, which allowed reaching the Brucellosis Free status without vaccination (former "Officially Brucellosis Free - OBF" status) in the majority of the northern and middle Italian Regions and in some middle and southern Provinces included in Regions where the infection persists. Epidemiology of brucellosis in the EU and in Italy In the Italian Province of Caserta, the highest prevalence of brucellosis in buffaloes is reported; in 2017-2021, a total of 314 outbreaks occurred, in which 39,163 heads tested positive. Here, brucellosis is threatening not only human health and the widespread buffaloes breeding but also the important satellite activities concerning the Protected Designation of Origin (P.O.D.) cheese “Mozzarella di Bufala Campana". The authors also discuss the reemerged brucellosis in cattle in the Molise Region, which despite bordering the Province of Caserta, shows different hydrographic, orographic, and breeding characteristics. In Molise, the reemerged brucellosis had a very different epidemiological course, which allowed it to limit the adoption of One Health measures. The One Health approach to tackle brucellosis in buffaloes In order to tackle brucellosis in Campania Region and in its Province of Caserta, the One Health approach has been predisposed through strict control of animal health, human health, and the environment. The adopted model could be exportable to territories having similar characteristics.

This paper focuses on Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations (DSGSDs) identified in the Molise region (Italy), along the central-southern sector of the Apennines chain. These phenomena were detected and mapped through a combination of aerial-photo interpretation, morphological analyses, and field surveys, integrated through satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR). The obtained general map is organized in different sections: inventory map with identification of DSGSDs and main geological and orographic features, geostructural scheme, representative cross sections, list and characteristics of DSGSDs, geomorphometric maps, landslides map, and seismotectonic setting. This study allowed us to realize a complete inventory of DSGSDs in the Molise region and define the main characteristics of each phenomenon. Through this research, it was possible to establish a general correlation between the analyzed deformations and the geological and geomorphological setting of the region as well as with its geodynamic context.

Inventory of Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations (DSGSDs) and main geomorphological features of Molise region (Italy)

Hoplia walterrossii is a species endemic to Molise, Southern Italy, with completely unknown ecology and virtually known only on the holotype, few additional specimens having been merely listed in a recent paper. Following the discovery of various new populations in the field and of old unpublished samples, we provide new information on ecology, phenology, distribution, and morphology, including the description of the female, so far unknown. H. walterrossii is associated to alluvial soils near the coast, and to lowland floodplains, with apparent tolerance for temporarily flooded areas. Adults are active for about one month, from early May to early June, and have been observed mostly on leaves of canes and on young poplars, never on flowers. An attempt of formal IUCN status assignment is provided, giving the species the “Endagered” status. Suitable habitats for H. walterrossii are small residual meadows and, in particular, wetlands which have been subjected to a recent strong reduction due to human activity. This process, that started centuries ago, is still in progress, in spite of the formal identification of these areas as sites of conservation concern., Fragmenta Entomologica, Vol. 50 No. 2 (2018)

Landslides are one of the most relevant geohazards worldwide, causing direct and indirect costs and fatalities. Italy is one of the countries most affected by mass movements, and the Molise region, southern Italy, is known to be susceptible to erosional processes and landslides. In January 2003, a landslide in the municipality of Agnone, in the Colle Lapponi-Piano Ovetta (CL-PO) territory, occurred causing substantial damage to both structures and civil infrastructure. To investigate the evolution of the landslide-affected catchment over approximately one century, different data were taken into account: (i) literature information at the beginning of the twentieth century; (ii) historical sets of aerial optical photographs to analyse the geomorphological evolution from 1945 to 2003; (iii) SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data from the ERS1/2, ENVISAT and COSMO-SkyMed satellites to monitor the displacement from 1992 to 2015; (iv) traditional measurements carried out through geological and geomorphological surveys, inclinometers and GPS campaigns to characterize the geological setting of the area; and (v) recent optical photographs of the catchment area to determine the enlargement of the landslide. Using the structure from motion technique, a 3D reconstruction of each set of historical aerial photographs was made to investigate the geomorphological evolution and to trace the boundary of the mass movements. As a result, the combination of multitemporal and multitechnique analysis of the evolution of the CL-PO landslide enabled an assessment of the landslide expansion, which resulted in a maximum length of up to approximately 1500 m. A complete investigation of the past and present deformational sequences of the area was performed to potentially plan further mitigation and prevention strategies to avoid possible reactivations. This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO); the State Agency of Research (AEI); and the European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER) under projects TEC2017-85244-C2-1-P and TIN2014-55413-C2-2-P and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport under project PRX17/00439.

Italy is one of the European countries most affected by biological invasions. In this study, we focused on the impact of Acacia saligna, an Australian invasive plant species, on the coastal ecosystem’s ecology and biodiversity along the sandy coasts of Molise (southern Italy). We analyzed data from 61 vegetation plots recorded in coastal pine forest and Mediterranean scrub habitats of Molise throughout the preparatory actions of the “LIFE Maestrale” project (NAT/IT/000262). In order to study the ecological impact of Acacia saligna comparing invaded and non-invaded areas, we first assigned the Ellenberg’s indicator values to each plant species, which were then used to relate the presence of Acacia saligna with ecological characteristics of sites through a generalized linear model (GLM). Our results showed a significant positive relationship between the presence of Acacia saligna and high levels of soil nutrients and, on the contrary, a negative relationship with the presence of mesophilic species, which are typical of the community interest habitats of pine forest (2270*). The use of ecological indicators is effective to pinpoint the ecological effects of biological invasions, as well as to evaluate habitat conservation state and to identify vulnerable native species.

Recent and ongoing technological developments make the application of unmanned aerial platforms increasingly accessible for archaeological research and heritage management. While the effectiveness of drones for documentation purposes of standing monuments and excavations has been amply demonstrated in recent years, there are also promising developments in their application for landscape archaeological projects. In this paper, the potential use of drones for the detection of subsurface archaeological remains in mountainous, Mediterranean landscapes is explored by presenting a case study in Molise, South Italy. In this rugged, Apennine area, traditional aerial archaeology approaches have in the past failed to yield good results as regards the detection and documentation of subsurface structures through crop marks. Recent experiments with low altitude, both vertical and oblique aerial photography using small, consumer friendly UAV's drones have, however, produced important and clearly readable information about the existence and extent of subsurface features in a series of sites in the Tappino Valley in Molise. This paper presents the first results of a case study of a complex rural site of the Classical-Roman period. Consequently, the paper discusses the potential value and feasibility of UAV's for archaeological research and cultural heritage management. In particular, the potential of the integration of UAV imagery in existing standard landscape archaeological research methods, such as field survey and geophysical prospection, is discussed. It is concluded that the targeted use of small remote controlled aerial platforms can significantly add to existing practices of both site-recognition and heritage management in the heavily threatened Mediterranean landscapes, and that it can be feasibly and efficiently integrated within standard methodologies applied in field survey projects.

The ‘Molise Survey Project’ aims, through systematic survey, to document evidence for the prehistoric occupation and exploitation of the Apennine Mountains. Here, we present some of the first results of the archaeological surveys, with a focus on the evidence from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.

This paper moves from the idea that a deeper and more realistic knowledge of the immigration in Italy is necessarily based on local studies of this phenomenon. Above all, it is important to carefully analyze the situation of foreigners who fit into local community to find the special features of their settlement that must be taken into account in order to build and plan integration policies really effective and appropriate to the local context. In the wake of these considerations, I will introduce a brief survey on the presence and integration of foreigners in Molise region. More precisely, I will examine some recent statistics that allow to outline the main socio-demographic characteristics of the foreign population resident in the region and also to consider some aspects concerning the inclusion of foreigners in the local labor market. Finally, I will explain some events in order to point out some possible directions for the social integration of foreigners in the region. In this way, Molise could be a pilot region for the effective inclusion of immigrants.

L’article porte sur une expérience de terrain réalisée en Estonie orientale, en avril 2018. Notre objectif était d’explorer la question de l’intégration nationale, mais aussi transnationale, à travers des enquêtes qualitatives sur les représentations de l’identité nationale, sociolinguistique et religieuse d’un secteur de la composante russophone de la population estonienne et, partant, européenne : la communauté des vieux‑croyants de la rive occidentale du lac Peïpous, où elle s’est implantée à la fin du xviie siècle, en rupture avec la réforme du rite orthodoxe de Russie. Nous relaterons ici cette expérience en trois étapes : la préparation du terrain, le séjour sur place, et nos premières conclusions sur cette situation qui nous semble exemplaire d’une intégration équilibrée, dans un monde traversé par des crises et des conflits. We present here a summary of a recent fieldwork experience, carried out in April 2018, in Eastern Estonian, on the Western shore of Lake Peipus. Through interviews of artists, scholars and cultural activists working for the promotion of the Old Believers’ cultural heritage, we attempted to fathom the identity and insights of this sector of Estonian population, within the framework of Estonian nation‑building and European integration. Old Believers split from Reformist Orthodoxy at the middle of the Seventeenth Century, in Russia. Among many communities of Old Believers who fled persecutions worldwide, one settled on the Western shore of the Peipus lake, in Estonia – under Swedish rule at that time. The account of our sociolinguistic empirical inquiry is threefold: (i) preliminary contacts and planning of the expedition, (ii) the documentary work carried out on the spot, and (iii) some considerations on how this case study on Old Believers’ cultural movement in Estonia contributes to both a theory and a praxis of multicultural integration. Such insights are all the more relevant nowadays, in a period of sociocultural instability and geopolitical crisis worldwide. В статье рассматривается полевое исследование, проведеннoе в Восточной Эстонии в апреле 2018 года. Нашей целью было исследование вопроса национальной, а так же транснациональной интеграции, путем качественных обзоров о национальной, социолингвистической и религиозной идентичности сектора русскоязычной составляющей эстонского, и одновременно европейского, населения : община староверов западного берега Чудского озера, которая там обосновалась в конце XVII века, полностью разрывая отношения с реформированной православной Россией. Мы расскажем здесь об этом эксперименте проведенном в три этапа : подготовка исследования, пребывание в зоне исследования и наши первые выводы по этой ситуации, которaя является для нас образцом сбалансированной интеграции в современном мире, обеспокоенном кризисами и конфликтами.

The biomass of understory vegetation has an important role in several forest ecosystem processes, though it is not frequently included in forest inventory programs, which are commonly focused on the tree component. The objective of the study is to test a fast procedure for obtaining an accurate estimation of three components of the aboveground understory vegetation: herbaceous, bush, regeneration. For such a purpose a Volume Index has been calculated on the basis of the product between the percent coverage of vegetation and the average height of the three different components of understory vegetation. The index has been quantified in twenty clusters of four squared plots 1 m2 wide; clusters were located in two study areas in the northern part of Molise Region (southeastern Italy). For each plot, the dry biomass has been collected and weighted, and then transformed in carbon stock. This study presents the field protocol and the achieved results in terms of measured aboveground understorey carbon stock in six different forest and pre-forest types (the average carbon stock was 1.19 t C ha-1) and correlation between Volume Index and carbon stock (the Pearson’s correlation index was 0.8 on 309 field observations).

Summary 24 species from Marche and Molise regions (Central-southern Italy), sampled during two biomonitoring surveys, are reported. 7 of these are new to Marche and 13 to Molise. The other species are interesting for their distribution and give useful informations about the climatic conditions of the survey areas.

We present evidence of surface faulting of a poorly known first-century B.C. aqueduct in central-southern Italy. Data were acquired by means of geological, geophysical, and geodetical surveys along the surficial trace of a primary active fault (Aquae Iuliae fault). The ~30-km-long Venafrum aqueduct presents a net vertical offset of almost 4 m at the intersection with this normal fault. This fact reveals the occurrence of repeated faulting of the Roman water supply after its construction, i.e., during large historical earthquakes, the last being one of the most violent events to happen in Italy during the Middle Ages (September 1349, Mw = 6.6). We tentatively associate the remaining offset of the aqueduct to other poorly characterized earthquakes in the area, which were not previously associated with any active fault. It is a well-known fact that the recognition of ancient earthquakes on archaeological relics is a matter of debate in archaeoseismology, being difficult at all times—and often impossible—to ascertain whether the damage observed should be related to seismic shaking or other *paolo.galli@protezionecivile.it Galli, P.A.C., Giocoli, A., Naso, J.A., Piscitelli, S., Rizzo, E., Capini, S., and Scaroina, L., 2010, Faulting of the Roman aqueduct of Venafrum (southern Italy): Methods of investigation, results, and seismotectonic implications, in Sintubin, M., Stewart, I.S., Niemi, T.M., and Altunel, E., eds., Ancient Earthquakes: Geological Society of America Special Paper 471, p. 233–242, doi: 10.1130/2010.2471(19). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. © 2010 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.

The article deals with the conceptualization of house/home in the Molise Croatian ethnolect (hiža), spoken by the Croatian minority in the Italian province of Compobasso. The Lublin school ethnolinguistic approach and the tenets of the EUROJOS project are employed for the purpose: the Molise Croatian concept of HIŽA is investigated on the basis of lexicographic data, texts (proverbs, literary works, and the press), as well as results of linguistic experiments. Lexicographic sources have appeared to be rather poor and insufficient for a full reconstruction of the concept – this has to be supplemented with the much richer texts and questionnaires. The texts reveal the physical, locative, and (psycho-)social aspects of the meaning of hiža. The questionnaires, in turn, contain a clear axiological component. The speakers of the ethnolect have shown that hiža is a family place/space, a building, or family as such. It is a beautiful place, important and friendly to people. (W artykule analizowany jest koncept dom (określany leksemem hiža) w etnolekcie molizańsko- chorwackim, używanym przez członków mniejszości chorwackiej we włoskiej prowincji Compobasso. Stosując metodologię lubelskiej szkoły etnolingwistycznej i złożenia projektu eurojos, autor odpowiada na pytanie, czym jest molizańsko- chorwacka hiža w świetle danych leksykograficznych, tekstów (przysłów, tekstów literackich i prasowych) oraz wyników badań eksperymentalnych. Analizy dowiodły, że dane słownikowe są ubogie i tylko w niewielkim stopniu pozwalają na rekonstrukcję pełnej treści konceptu, inaczej niż znacznie bogatsze dane tekstowe i ankietowe. W tekstach ujawnia się fizyczny, lokatywny i (psycho)społeczny aspekt znaczenia leksemu hiža. W ankietach – poza nimi – silnie zaznaczył się także aspekt aksjologiczny. Użytkownicy etnolektu wskazali, że hiža to przestrzeń/miejsce życia ludzi w rodzinnym otoczeniu, budynek, rodzina, a także miejsce piękne, dla człowieka ważne i przyjazne.)

Le attività di ricerca sono state rivolte alla comprensione del comportamento idrogeologico degli acquiferi carbonatici in facies di bacino, diffusamente presenti in alcuni settori dell’Italia meridionale, principalmente costituiti da calcari, calcari con selce e marne. Questo tipo di acquiferi, a differenza di quelli costituiti dalle serie di piattaforma carbonatica, ovvero da litotipi calcarei carsificati, calcareodolomitici e dolomitici, non è mai stato studiato in precedenza, sebbene esso rappresenti la principale fonte di approvvigionamento idropotabile nel Molise. Tra le metodologie di studio è stata principalmente utilizzata l’analisi del regime del deflusso idrico sotterraneo, soprattutto in relazione ai fenomeni di ricarica, sia diffusi che eventualmente concentrati in canali carsici. L’area campione oggetto di studio comprende il rilievo carbonatico del Monte Campo (Isernia, Molise). I limiti dell’acquifero carbonatico sono stati definiti mediante rilievi geologico-strutturali, una campagna di sondaggi elettrici verticali e sondaggi a carotaggio continuo. L’insieme delle indagini ha consentito di accertare l’esistenza della continuità idrogeologica tra la struttura del Monte Pasquale-Abeti Soprani ed i rilievi carbonatici contigui, rappresentati da Monte Campo s.s., Monte S. Nicola e Monte del Cerro. L’acquifero carbonatico del Monte Campo mostra l’esistenza sia di una circolazione idrica sotterranea basale, orientata principalmente verso il gruppo sorgivo di Fonte Quarto, che di un articolato sistema di falde sospese in alta quota. La circolazione per falde sospese in alta quota è riconducibile all’esistenza di intercalazioni a minore permeabilità nella serie sedimentaria carbonatica, senza escludere il contributo del sistema epicarsico, in relazione allo spessore variabile ed al grado di sviluppo. Il gruppo sorgivo basale di Fonte Quarto è caratterizzato da un regime variabile che ha mostrato nel periodo di monitoraggio una sequenza di numerose fasi di ricarica ed esaurimento. La variabilità delle portate sorgive è risultata strettamente dipendente dalla distribuzione delle sequenze pluviometriche ed influenzata dalle caratteristiche della zona vadosa (spessa all’incirca 100 metri, in media). Il deflusso sotterraneo mostra variazioni pochi giorni dopo i fenomeni pluviometrici (circa 4). Nel caso specifico, questo dato sperimentale non si accorda bene con l’ipotetico effetto di un deflusso rapido in canali carsici, in diretta connessione con la sorgente, quanto piuttosto con fenomeni di infiltrazione efficace nel reticolo di fessure che pervadono l’acquifero. Prendendo in considerazione lo spessore della zona vadosa, il tempo di ritardo tra gli apporti pluviometrici e l’incremento delle portate sorgive ha permesso di stimare indirettamente la velocità di infiltrazione in circa 22 m/g. Questo valore, leggermente inferiore a quelli calcolati negli altri acquiferi carbonatici dell’Italia centromeridionale, è giustificato dall’esistenza di livelli a bassa permeabilità nell’ambito della zona vadosa, più che dalla presenza di terreni di copertura poco permeabili. Differentemente, alcune prove di emungimento, effettuate in prossimità della sorgente basale, hanno mostrato valori di trasmissività di 3.0×10-2 m2/s ed un coefficiente di immagazzinamento di circa 3.1×10-2, similari a quelli determinati per gli acquiferi francamente costituiti da serie di piattaforma carbonatica. Ciò può essere interpretato con l’assenza di stratificazioni a bassa permeabilità nell’ambito della zona di saturazione. Il differente comportamento idrodinamico tra la zona di saturazione e quella vadosa trova riscontro nelle caratteristiche stratigrafiche della serie sedimentaria che, verso l’alto, è caratterizzata dalla presenza di intercalazioni marnose a minore permeabilità. Un’ulteriore conferma al modello idrogeologico è stata fornita dalle analisi idrogeochimiche ed isotopiche delle acque sotterranee.

The analysis of the mesoscopic structures observed within the Frosolone unit multilayer (Molise region, Central Italy) has led to the distinction of three main «structural groups», each one characterised by different styles of deformation as a response to their lithological features. In this scenario, the Oligo-Miocene Macchiagodena Formation clearly represents the uppermost weakness level of the multilayer, which is mainly made up of Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations affected by less pervasive brittle deformations. Moreover, mesoscopic structures likely related to break-back thrusting sequences have been observed, and might represent an indication of larger scale out-of-sequence thrust propagation occurred in the area.

This paper is the final result of a geological-structural survey at 1:10.000 scale in a wide area of the Molise region. The surveyed area comprises the NW thrust front of the Matese Mountain and the entire Montagnola di Frosolone, characterised by the transitional sequences of the Frosolone Unit, the innermost unit among the Molisan Units. The enclosed geological map (scale 1:30.000) includes several brand new items with respect to the official cartography. Geometrically correct and potentially retrodeformable geological cross-sections show the structural features of this region. Thrust tectonics leads the general geological setting of the region with overthrusts surfaces, reverse faults, folds, s-c tectonites and reverse kink-bands. Strike-slip tectonics and WNW-ESE extensional tectonics, following compressional features, fit the tectonic reconstruction, playing only a secondary role with respect to Molisan Apennine mountain building. The main geometries are made up by several folds with strongly steep and overturned bedding nearby the thrust leading edge. Those folds show generally small amplitude and high frequency, involving the whole multilayer. The Frosolone Unit shows sedimentological and lithological features of a typical transitional environment, where a continuous sedimentation of detritic limestones took place since Dogger to Middle Miocene. Our data partially confirmed interpretative theories of other workers, highlighting the general complexity of the entire structure. Tectonic setting is characterised by several folds with structural axis having different orientation. Dispersion can be due to differential rotation of early stage structures, connected with the developing of an important out-of-sequence thrust, the Simbruini-Venafro-Frosolone thrust. An important element highlighted in this paper is the presence of two thrusts along the south-eastern margin of the Montagnola di Frosolone. These new elements mark the tectonic contact between the preterrigenous sequence and the silicoclastic deposits which border the structure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reaxys Database Information

Le neoplasie testicolari sono piuttosto frequenti nel cane e condividono alcune caratteristiche con quelle umane, rendendole un potenziale modello in patologia comparata. Si riportano i dati relativi ai tumori testicolari del cane conferiti ed esaminati Istituto G. Caporale nel corso degli ultimi 12 anni, dal 2000 al 2011. In totale, sono stati diagnosticati 183 tumori: 108 seminomi, 37 sertoliomi, 18 tumori a cellule interstiziali del Leydig, 10 tumori misti, 9 neoplasie primitive di diversa natura una metastasi. La raccolta dettagliata di informazioni (segnala-mento, anamnesi, manifestazioni cliniche e follow-up) messa in atto, consentirà di valutare al meglio il comportamento biologico delle neoplasie animali il potenziale oncogeno di specifici fattori, sia intrinseci che estrinseci.

The Molise Apennine, located in the northern sector of the southern Apennine arc, is characterized by the presence of several Quaternary intra-montane basins of tectonic origin (Isernia, Carpino-le Piane, Sessano, Boiano, Sepino) (Fig. 1). Their evolution has been strongly influenced by the development of fault systems related to the post-collisional extensional tectonics that have affected these sectors of the chain since the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene, and since Middle Pleistocene, was controlled by extensional fault systems with a general NW-SE trend (AMATO et alii, 2011). The Boiano and Sepino basins, located within a narrow NW- SE deformation belt, are filled with huge Quaternary successions of marshy to lacustrine, volcanoclastic and alluvial deposits (AMATO et alii, 2010). Middle Pleistocene-Holocene chrono-stratigraphical and environmental data were available for the Boiano infilling successions (ISPRA, in press). In order to better understand the chrono-stratigraphical features of the Boiano basin deeper infilling and its environmental and tectonic evolution, an integrated geomorphological, stratigraphical, geochronological, tephrostratigraphical, pollen and structural approach was carried out.

The Boiano basin (ca. 500 m a.s.l.) is located between the carbonate Matese and Montagnola di Frosolone massifs and the adjacent Sannio hills (Fig. 1). It is a 4 km large tectonic intramountain depression, elongated 20 km in a NW-SE direction, and nowadays drained by the Biferno river. The deformation history of this basin is characterized by several compression phases occurred between Miocene and Pliocene, followed first by strike-slip tectonics and then, since Middle Pleistocene, by extensional tectonics (DI BUCCI et alii, 2002, with references). Main faults show a NW-SE trend and several of them are still active and responsible for the historical and present seismicity. Even if the tectonic evolution of the basin was investigated in detail, little is known about the stratigraphy and chronology of its Quaternary infilling. Only in the SE sector of the basin (Campochiaro area) it is ascertained that the infilling consists of at least 200 m of fluvial-lacustrine deposits of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene age (RUSSO & TERRIBILE, 1995). Other chrono-stratigraphical constraints come from S. Massimo (Fig.1), along the NW side of the Matese massif, where residual strips of fluvio-lacustrine sediments, cropping out at 300 m above the present plain, were 40Ar/39Ar dated to 0.6 Ma (DI BUCCI et alii, 2005).

New stratigraphic and biostratigraphic data arising from the realization of the Sheet No. 405 "Campobasso" of the new Geological map of Italy (1:50.000 scale - CARG Project) allowed, for the first time in this area, to stratigraphically and cartographically define all the intervals composing the basinal Sannio Unit Auct. Structural analysis and the chronostratigraphic redefinition of siliciclastic deposits covering the Sannio Unit and the carbonate platform successions of the Matese-Frosolone Units, indicate two main evolutionary stages in the Miocene-Pliocene structuring of this portion of the Southern Apennines. In the first stage, starting before Serravallian times, E-verging contraction affected exclusively the basinal units together with their siliciclastic cover. During the second stage, beginning after early Messinian times, NE-verging compression involved both the basinal Sannio Unit and the Matese-Frosolone Units.