Editorial for the Special Issue of Minerals, “Understanding the Geologic History of Italy: Perspectives from Geochemistry, Geology, and Mineralization”

The Italian Peninsula and Islands are among the most geologically diverse and tectonically dynamic regions in Europe and in the Mediterranean area. The present-day geological framework and landscape—ranging from the Alpine chain to the Apennines, from volcanic districts to foreland areas and foredeep basins—are the result of a long and complex history encompassing orogenesis, ocean crust-basin formation, magmatism, active volcanism, metamorphism and sedimentation. This Special Issue of Minerals, entitled “Understanding the Geologic History of Italy: Perspectives from Geochemistry, Geology, and Mineralization”, brings together multidisciplinary approaches and new insights on the evolution of this exceptional natural laboratory.

The ten papers collected in this volume, authored by forty-eight researchers from twelve Italian universities and research institutions, illustrate the remarkable interplay between mineralization and tectonic evolution, oceanic and continental crustal processes and sedimentation. Contributions span a broad range of topics, including the structural and metamorphic evolution of orogenic belts, the petrogenesis of magmatic complexes, geochemical fingerprints of mantle and crustal sources, and the genesis of mineral deposits and ore-forming processes throughout the Italian territory. These studies collectively highlight how integrated analyses—combining field geology, petrography, mineralogy, isotope geochemistry, and geochronology—can offer novel insights on mineralization during time across different geological settings. The following is a more detailed summary:

Buccione et al. (Contribution 1), through a synthesis of geochemical datasets of Meso-Cenozoic shales in the southern Apennines, provide insights into sediment provenance, paleoweathering processes and sedimentary evolution of the Lagonegro basin (Basilicata, southern Italy), suggesting that this basin was connected to the south with the African cratonic area.

Fregola et al. (Contribution 2) prepared an updated overview of polymetallic ore deposits in the Sila and Serre Massifs of Calabria (southern Italy), examining geological context, mineralization styles and open research questions about their genesis and resource potential. Their literature review shows that most of these ore deposits are formed during pre-Alpine geologic evolution, within the late-Variscan metamorphic and plutonic continental crust (however, there is no shortage of Alpine and Quaternary mineralization).

Knuever et al. (Contribution 3) reviewed skarn formation associated with alkaline magmas emplaced in carbonate rocks. They focus on the geochemical effect of carbonate rocks assimilation in magmas and mineralization produced; both processes are studied at the outer margins of the magma chamber of Somma-Vesuvius, Colli Albani and Merapi volcanic systems. Furthermore, they discuss how the magma–host-rock interaction and its products, especially the release of CO₂ during contact metamorphism, impact the eruptive behaviour in all three systems.

Micheletti et al. (Contribution 4) presented a detailed petrographic and geochemical investigation of terra rossa soils developed on Mesozoic limestones in the Apulian foreland. Their work points to a polygenetic origin of the soil profile involving carbonate alteration combined with siliciclastic input and fluid-rock interaction during Quaternary.

Punturo et al. (Contribution 5) critically reviewed mineralogical features, petrographic variations and geochemical potential of serpentinites from northern Calabria, resulting from the ocean-floor metamorphism of ultramafic rocks belonging to the Jurassic Neotethys crust, framing them as both geologic resource and hazard.

Vezzoni et al. (Contribution 6) revisited the classic Campiglia Marittima skarn deposit in Tuscany, disputing traditional skarn development models with new petrographic and geochemical observations, which highlight the role of successive interactions among the late Miocene–Pliocene felsic to mafic magmatic intrusions and the Mesozoic carbonate host rock.

Dini et al. (Contribution 7) focused on ore systems hosted in ophiolite sequences of Tuscany, describing Cu-Zn volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, reconstructing their geological setting, and evaluating their significance for strategic metals. These deposits represent a prime example of the sub-seafloor portion of a hybrid mafic-ultramafic oceanic hydrothermal system, formed along the slow spreading ridge of the Jurassic Piedmont-Ligurian Ocean.

Naitza et al. (Contribution 8) focused on the Variscan mineral system of Sardinia, exploring post-collisional tectono-magmatic evolution, crustal reworking and ore genesis. Their conceptual model, i.e., the Sardinian Variscan Mineral System, emphasizes the role of lithospheric shear-zone heat flow and fluid pathways in ore deposition within the Sardinian basement.

Cioce et al. (Contribution 9) integrated hydrogeochemistry, field geology and seismic profiles in the Salsomaggiore Structure, i.e., a thrust propagation anticline at the front of the northwestern Apennines, to evaluate the potential of critical raw materials (CRMs), and to understand the origin, accumulation processes, and migration pathways of the related CRM-rich waters. Their results establish a relationship between CRM-rich waters and the intra-Messinian to Quaternary tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the outer Apennines/foreland basin.

Santoro et al. (Contribution 10) revisited graphite mineralization hosted in the metasedimentary succession of the Pinerolo Unit from the Dora-Maira Massif, in the Chisone and Germanasca Valleys (Western Alps). Combining geochemistry, mineralogy, and petrography they classified graphite as occurring in three types on the basis of the diverse crystallinity grade, and linked their formation to regional metamorphism and shear-zone development. They show that the graphitic mineralization was derived from Carboniferous organic matter in continental sedimentary environment, and that Permian contact metamorphism could have induced the graphitization of the organic matter. Moreover, graphite may have also grown and/or remobilized along shear zones active during the exhumation stages of the Alpine orogeny.

We are confident that the research studies presented in this Special Issue will serve as a reference for future, interdisciplinary investigations, on the geologic evolution of Italy, i.e., an open book on the complex geologic history of the Mediterranean area.