Search

We evaluated pollen-climate models developed for past temperature reconstruction in northern Italy by comparing pollen-inferred temperature series with site-specific instrumental series in two records covering the last 200 years and provided with a pollen sample resolution of 5/9 years. Moderate to good correlation is found. We discuss the methodological approach and the possible influ-ence of human activities in the pollen-inferred reconstructions.

Human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts occasionally present signs of traumatic injuries from weapons, revealing, for example, the degree of interpersonal violence, the type of weapon and the sequence of events of a specific historical context. Traumatic lesions are generally analyzed using macroscopic and microscopic methods, which are not necessarily integrated in the same study. In this study, we employed a multi-analytical approach to determine if new, or more refined information could be gained compared to traditional analyses. Here, we describe and analyze interpersonal skeletal peri-mortem sharp-force trauma in remains recovered in 2009 during archaeological excavations of a cemetery in the 4th to 6th century AD the city of Modena (Italy). Evidence for sharp force trauma was observed in four of the 13 individuals recovered at site. The traumatic lesions were analyzed using an integrated multi-analytical approach that combines traditional macroscopic examination, light microscopy, and three-dimensional digital modeling. We aimed to determine the number, size, and the position of the lesions, and the direction (angles) of weapon penetration in the bone. In particular, we applied digital protocols for the orientation of the skeletal regions of interest involved in the trauma to provide useful results for future comparisons and investigations.

This study completes the description of the chiton fauna (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) from deposits of the Miocene marine sequence of North Italy, located in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna regions. This second and final part describes chitons belonging to five families: Callochitonidae, Chitonidae, Lepidochitonidae, Acanthochitonidae and Cryptoplacidae. Nineteen species were identified, of which two are described as new (Chiton sulcomarginatus sp. n. and Craspedochiton brunettii sp. n.), and 17 were already known. Craspedochiton mutinocrassus is the new name attributed to the species previously known as Acanthochiton costatus or A. costatus var. mutinocrassa; Chiton sulcomarginatus sp. n., Lepidochitona monterosatoi, L. pliocinerea, and Acanthochitona oblonga, previously known only up to Pliocene, are reported for the first time from the Miocene of Italy. The stratigraphic distribution of numerous species thought to first appear in the Late Miocene (Callochiton doriae, Chiton olivaceus, C. corallinus, Acanthochitona fascicularis, A. crinita, and Craspedochiton altavillensis) is here extended to the Early Miocene. The distribution of Cryptoplax weinlandi is extended to the Middle Miocene (Serravallian). In total 35 chiton species (with 3.003 valves) were identified in the Italian Miocene (including both parts of this series). Ten species became extinct at the end of the Miocene, six in the Pliocene, two in the Pleistocene, and 17 are extant. Of the extant species nine occur both in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, two exclusively in the Atlantic and six only in the Mediterranean. The number of species reported from the Torino Hill assemblages (Burdigalian?) is increased from three listed by Sacco (1897) to nine. Thirty-four of the 35 species (excluding only Lepidopleurus benoisti) occur in the Tortonian-Messinian Po Basin. Thirteen (37%) of the species are also found in the Miocene Paratethys (Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine), which can be explained by connections between the Proto-Mediterranean and Paratethys during the Miocene., Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research In Paleontology and Stratigraphy), V. 122, N. 3 (2016)

This article studies the development of poor relief in the rural areas of the diocese of Tortona in the eighteenth century, through the analysis of the parish reports written for the pastoral visits of bishops Giulio Resta and Giuseppe Lodovico Andujar in 1741 and 1743. The reports record the most important assistance activities organised by different social actors: dowries for poor girls; bread, money and clothing to distribute to the poor; but also formal support in the form of hospitals providing shelter and care for pilgrims and the sick; the monti di pietà, which loaned money and the grain stores, which provided essential loans of grain. The diocese of Tortona in the eighteenth century represents a privileged point of view for understanding how the development of poor relief in the ancien régime was influenced by the political and institutional, geographical, landowning and socio-ecomomic context. Here, a complex institutional situation, combined with a diverse geographical and socio-economic context, gave rise to a variety of poor relief systems.

This study describes the chiton fauna (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) from deposits of the Miocene marine sequence of North Italy, located in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna regions. This first part of the work describes the chitons pertaining to four families: Leptochitonidae, Hanleyidae, Ischnochitonidae and Callistoplacidae. The studied fossils consist of 377 valves from 13 sites (Sciolze, Valle Ceppi, Rocco di Passerano, Albugnano, Monchio di Sarzano Casina, Villa Monti, Rio di Bocca d’Asino, Sant’Agata Fossili, Vargo, Vigoleno, Montegibbio, Borelli, and Moncucco Torinese) ranging from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) to the Late Miocene (Messinian). We identified 16 species, 12 of which were already known, two are identified only at generic level (Stenosemus sp. A & sp. B), and two are described as new: Parachiton statianus sp. n., and Callistochiton borellianus sp. n. Some species found are particularly noteworthy; Lepidopleurus benoisti is the new name attributed to the species previously known as Middendorffia subcajetana or Gymnoplax orbignyi, based on the study of the type material; Leptochiton salicensis, previously known only from the Early Pleistocene of Salice (Messina, Sicily); Hanleya mediterranea is reported for the first time from the Miocene of Italy; Ischnochiton ligusticus, previously known only from the Early Pliocene of Western Liguria; the distribution of Stenoplax paviai, recently described from the Late Miocene (Rio di Bocca d’Asino), is extended to the Early Miocene (Langhian). A complete discussion on the chiton fauna from the North Italian Miocene, consisting of all the species treated in both parts, will be given in the second part of this work., Rivista italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, Vol 121, No 2

Twenty-eight freshwater crayfish were collected from 8 streams and one small lake in the province of South Tyrol (North Italy) from autumn 1999 to spring 2001, in order to investigate the presence of branchiobdellidans. At 6 of the streams the white clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes italicus) was collected, while the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus), the exotic species: signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus) were respectively caught at the other 2 streams and at the lake. Except for O. limosus, branchiobdellidans were observed on all crayfish examined. On noble crayfish, specimens of Branchiobdella italica and Branchiobdella hexodonta were found on the same host. Branchiobdella italica was largely recovered from all white clawed crayfish. The specimens of signal crayfish were found to carry only Xironogiton victoriensis.

International audience; Dans la péninsule italienne, la période comprise entre l’éruption du Vésuve et les grands bouleversements de l’Antiquité tardive a longtemps été négligée. Nous avons voulu nous y intéresser à travers le prisme du décor domestique, en nous centrant sur une zone géographique aujourd’hui bien documentée, l’Italie centrale et l’Italie septentrionale. Il s’agissait ainsi d’étudier l’évolution des schémas décoratifs en fonction des différents contextes, aussi bien géographiques que socio-économiques. Tel fut l’objet de nos recherches doctorales dont la méthode et les principaux résultats sont résumés ici.

We report the results of a survey to determine the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis and the presence of sand flies in northwestern Italy, where autochthonous foci of canine leishmaniasis have not been reported. Active foci of canine leishmaniasis were identified, which suggests that the disease is now also endemic in continental climate areas.

At the end of the second millennium B.C., the extractive metallurgy of copper in Trentino (Italy) achieved a peak of technological efficiency and mass production, as evidenced by the large number of metallurgical sites and the huge amount of slags resulting from the smelting activities. Though different scholars proposed several smelting process models, so far an agreed interpretation of the whole process is lacking. Over 70 slags from the Luserna, Transacqua and Segonzano sites (all located Trentino, Italy) were investigated in order to verify: 1) the technological development of the smelting processes performed, 2) the possible use of different working-steps in the metal production process and the copper extraction efficiency, 3) the ore source of the smelted minerals. For these purposes a multi-analytical approach was applied, involving physical measurements and chemical-minero-petrographic analyses by means of OM, XRPD, XRF and SEM-EDS. Pb-isotope analyses were also performed on several slags in order to correlate mines, smelting sites and metal objects on the basis of the Alpine Archaeocopper database (AAcP). Three different slag types were identified from the mineralogical and chemical points of view, each being the product of distinct metallurgical steps. On the basis of these considerations, it is proposed a new Cu-smelting model in the Late Bronze Age.

Since Italian unification, Southern Italy has lagged behind with respect to the North and for this reason it has been subsidized for a long time, by the Italian government before and the EU later. The fact that despite a huge amount of subsidies the South has not been able to reduce the development gap with the North has urged scholars to focus their attention on the capability of the society to improve its own situation which means to take into consideration sociological aspects with respect to economic development. The concept of social capital that refers to the types of relations between individuals, could represent one explanatory factor of the Southern backward situation. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationships between social capital and socio-economic disparities among the Northern and Southern regions of Italy. Firstly, a historical description of the Southern situational is described to point out the long duration of the issue. Secondly a recent economic description of the chosen regions has been made to show the still significant socio-economic disparities between the North and the South. Thirdly a literature review about the concept of social capital has been made in order to personally define the concept and choose useful indicators for the purpose of the thesis. Finally, according to the author’s interpretation, the social capital situation of the chosen regions has been pointed out and considerations about it in respect with the economic development have been made. According to the study, the two chosen regions represent different degrees of social capital. These seem to affect somehow the diverse economic development of the North and the South.

Background Body image is defined as the perception of one’s own and of the others body size and appearance and the emotional response to this perception (O’Neill et al., 1992). Body image perception involves both anthropometric and psychological factors. The increase in eating disorders and in psychological discomfort of younger subjects from Western societies indicates that body image may be considered an important variable in population screening, especially during the period of growth, characterized by a biological, cognitive and emotional development and physical changes. Aim A cross-sectional study was undertaken in Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy) to investigate whether differences exist in body shape concerns among different age-groups and sexes. Methods The present work is part of an auxological study started in 2001 in Bologna and Ferrara cities. The sample consisted of 1252 females and 1192 males aged 8 to 22. They were examined on a cross-sectional study, analyzing the body image perception in different growing periods characterized by critical biological and psycho-social events: 8-10 years (childhood, beginning of formation of personal identity), 10-14 years (early adolescence, pubertal development), 17 years (peer influence and access to greater freedom of activity and independence) and 20-22 years (transition to adulthood and achieved maturity). The body image perception was assessed using appropriate Body Silhouette Charts. The degree of dissatisfaction (estimated self figure versus ideal figure) was calculated. This paper includes some basic anthropometric measurements: height and weight. BMI was calculated as weight in kg divided by height in meters squared. Results The results of the analysis demonstrated an age variability and a sexual dimorphism in body image perception. An increasing dissatisfaction was evident in the considered age phases, particularly in female samples. A further analysis on 20-22 years-group confirmed the specific areas of concern for young women are waist, hips and stomach; while young men are specifically concerned with upper muscularity and abdomen. Moreover, there is a considerable misunderstanding among women about the kind of build the other gender actually prefers. Women believe that men prefer women with a thinner figure that men actually prefer; while men are more aware of women preferences. The influence of different life-styles on self and ideal figure perceptions was also discussed. Conclusions The analysis of body image through simple visual instruments, together with anthropometric measurements, allows to identify self-perception disturbances, symptomatic of some pathologies as obesity, anorexia nervosa and bulimia which are increasing in adolescent population. Results obtained from this work point out that the analysis of body image perception represents a valid source of information and could be assessed in studies of Human Biology, varying with age, sex, population, pathologies and socio-cultural environment. Finally, longitudinal data provided in the future would be important to achieve fully these goals.

A recently discovered population of the North American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), introduced to Ticino Park, Lombardy (N Italy), is likely to spread into continuous prealpine broadleaf forests of Lombardy and the south of Switzerland. We used Spatially Explicit Population Dynamics Models (SEPMs), successfully used to predict the spread of grey squirrels in England and Piedmont, Italy, to examine the effects of different control scenarios on grey squirrel expansion in a 20000 km2 area around Ticino Park. Without control, grey squirrels will invade Switzerland within the next two decades, and, concomitantly, the size and distribution of local populations of native red squirrels will be reduced. Simulating different grey squirrel control or removal scenarios suggests that: (i) efficient control is possible and mainly determined by the spatial distribution and woodland size of the ‘target’ control areas; and (ii) immediate actions must be taken, since delay in grey squirrel control will result in the population increasing and spreading, which makes the problems of successful containment more difficult. Model scenarios were based on surveys that may underestimate the real distribution range and current population size of grey squirrels. Therefore, a combination of hair–tube monitoring and a public participation survey to detect grey squirrel presence, which may also help to increase public awareness, is recommended. Successful containment of further grey squirrel spread will require local co-operation between Italian and Swiss authorities involved in wildlife management.

One hundred fifty-five unrelated, autochthonous healthy males from Northeast Italy were typed for the 17 Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) (Y-STR) loci DYS456, DYS389I, DYS390, DYS389II, DYS458, DYS19, DYS385, DYS393, DYS391, DYS439, DYS635, DYS392, Y GATA H4, DYS437, DYS438, DYS448 using the AmpFLSTR Yfiler polymerase chain reaction amplification kit. A total of 153 different haplotypes were observed, and among these, 151 were unique, while 2 were found two times. The overall haplotype diversity was 0.9997. Furthermore, 50 father-son pairs, previously confirmed by autosomal STR analysis, were typed using the same set of 17 Y-STR loci, and, among 850 allele transfers, three mutation events were identified, giving an average mutation rate of 3.53 x 10(-3) per locus per generation (95% confidence interval 0.73-1.03).

The thorough qualitative and quantitative palynological study of 11 fossiliferous samples of tuffïtic maris and of hemipelagic sediments from the Upper Ladinian was replaced in the frame of the paleogeographic evolution of the Ladinian basin of Dolomites. In fact, the carbonated facies of pelagic basin and of acid tuffites of the Livinallongo formation (Lower Ladinian) are followed by the hemipelagic or terrigenous and tuffitic facies (Zoppe member) of the Aquatona formation. The coarse terrigenous facies permitted the authors to reconstruct the paleogeography of the detrital imput. They originate principally from emerged areas formed of Triassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks and of rocks of the Dolomites basement. As compared to the most recent studies upon the microfloras of the Alpine Triassic, the specific composition and the very various associations of the observed types corroborate the attribution of all the samples studied to the Uppermost Ladinian. The comparison of the tuffitic samples from the Eastern Carnic Alps (Tarvisio area, Italy) with those from Dolomites permits the authors to ascribe an Upper Ladinian age — rather than an Upper Anisian or Lower Ladinian one — to the acid tuffites outcropping under the ignimbrites of Rio Freddo in the type locality. And this points out new paleogeographic relations between the acid tuffites of the pelagic basin of Dolomites and of the Western Carnic Alps and the pyroclastic series of the Eastern Carnic Alps settled in a continental and neritic or hemipelgic environment. The study of the palynological variations which are significant of the conditions of eolian transport and of real marine influence shows that there is an orderly evolution as a function of the distance to the Southern source of terrigenous imput and of the dynamics of transport and deposition. The presence of the Anisian carbonated paleorelief of Piz del Corvo as a ground feature in the Ladinian basin seems to be the second paleogeographic factor responsible for the palynological variations observed. The role of paleoreliefs upon the dynamics of the terrigenous transport and upon the local development of subaerial vegetal associations seems to confirm the importance of emerged islands in the understanding of the series of the Southern Alpine Triassic., L'étude palynologique qualitative et quantitative précise de 1 1 échantillons fossilifères de marnes tuffitiques et de sédiments hémipélagiques du Ladinien supérieur a été replacée dans le cadre de l'évolution paléogéographique du bassin ladinien des Dolomites. En effet, aux faciès carbonatés de bassin pélagique et de tuffites acides de la formation de Livinallongo (Ladinien inférieur) succèdent les faciès hémipélagiques ou terrigènes et tuffitiques (membre de Zoppe) de la formation d'Aquatona. Les faciès terrigènes grossiers ont permis de reconstituer la paléogéographie des apports détritiques. Ils sont issus principalement de terres émergées formées de roches sédimentaires et volcaniques triasiques et de roches du socle des Dolomites. Par comparaison avec les travaux les plus récents sur les microflores du Trias alpin, la composition spécifique et les associations très variées de formes observées confirment l'attribution au Ladinien supérieur de l'ensemble des échantillons. La comparaison des échantillons de tuffites des Alpes carniques orientales (région de Tarvisio, Italie) avec ceux des Dolomites permet d'attribuer un âge Ladinien supérieur aux tuffites acides affleurant sous les ignimbrites de Rio Freddo dans la localité type, plutôt qu' Anisien supérieur ou Ladinien inférieur. Ceci permet d'établir de nouvelles relations paléogéographiques entre les tuffites acides du bassin pélagique des Dolomites et des Alpes carniques occidentales et les séries pyroclastiques déposées en milieu continental, littoral s. I. et néritique ou hémipélagique des Alpes carniques orientales. L'étude des rapports palynologiques, significatifs des conditions de transport terrigène ou éolien et d'influence marine franche, montre qu'ils évoluent de façon ordonnée en fonction de la distance à la source d'apport terrigène méridionale et de la dynamique de transport et de dépôt. La présence du paléorelief carbonaté anisien du Piz del Corvo qui accidente le bassin ladinien paraît le second facteur paléogéographique responsable des variations palynologiques observées. Le rôle des paléoreliefs sur la dynamique de transport terrigène et sur le développement local d'associations végétales subaériennes paraît confirmer l'importance d'îles émergées dans la compréhension des séries du Trias alpin méridional., Cros Pierre, Doubinger Jeanne. Etudes palynologiques de sédiments terrigènes et pélagiques du Trias moyen des Dolomites italiennes. Relations avec le paléoenvironnement. In: Sciences Géologiques. Bulletin, tome 35, n°3, 1982. Palynologie. pp. 157-182.

Since 1991, the Caverna Generosa was subject of numerous digging campaigns, principally in two areas called "Sala Terminale" and "Cunicolo 13-15". Dating of the first 6 stratigrafical levels of the 13 investigated in the "Sala Terminale" gave an age between 50.000 and 38.000 years BP (14C non calibrated dating). In the area of the "Cunicolo 13-15", between meters 13 and 15 from the entrance, seven stratigrafical levels were excavated, and bones coming from layers from II to V were dated between 37.000 and 31.000 years BP ago (14C non calibrated dating). Microvertebrates remains are used to infer paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information. The microfaunal assemblages of "Sala Terminale" testifies for a climatic improvement, during the period between over 50.000 y BP and 40.000 y BP: from a cold climate and an environment characterised by open vegetation to a wooded areas and milder temperature. This climatic improvement is also recorded in the lower level of "Cunicolo 13-15", probably subsequent to the top of the "Sala Terminale". Then, microfaunal associations became typical of cold climate. This climatic worsening had its maximum at the base of lev. Cun 0, during the last Pleniglacial. Therefore, the sediments of "Caverna Generosa" probably testify the climatic and faunal changes of the period between isotopic stage 4 and 1., Rivista italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, Vol 115, No 2

The Fontana Marella cave, located in the Pre-Alps in Varese province (Lombardy, North Italy), supplied a Middle Pleistocene small mammal fauna, unique for this region. Thanks to the presence of Arvicola cf. mosbachensis and Pliomys episcopalis it is possible to date this sequence to the Early Toringian. Mostly for the predominant, presence of dominant Glis glis, Chionomys nivalis and Dinaromys bogdanovi, the faunal association is attributed to a temperate period, but cooler and perhaps more arid that the present one. The find of Macroneomys is important because it allows to extend the geographic distribution of this rare species., Rivista italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, Vol 114, No 1