Subject: COV10 FIELD-TRIP on Monte VULTURE: FT-B4 The Quaternary volcano of Monte Vulture and human history - A Geo-tour in a region of diatremes and earthquakes
FT-B4 The Quaternary volcano of Monte Vulture and human history - A Geo-tour in a region of diatremes and earthquakes
Monte Vulture is a small Quaternary volcano positioned on the eastern front of the Southern Apennine, in Italy. Being at the crossroads between the Puglia, Basilicata and Campania regions, it has always been a melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups. In these lands, the connection between human life and the volcano has always been very strong. The fertility of the volcanic soil, the large forests covering Monte Vulture’s slopes and the abundance of mineral waters - naturally enriched with CO2 of deep origin – are among the reasons why this area has always been inhabited. As a matter of fact, the oldest testimony of human activity are the caves of Rapolla, Barile and Notarchirico, which were excavated in the pyroclastic deposits of the volcano. The Normans, who built the castle and the city of Melfi in the 12th century, surely did not know that they settled on a lateral volcanic centre responsible for one of the rarest and most famous lava types in the world. Near the top of the volcano, perched on a fault wall, the Abbey of San Michele overlooks the two lakes of Monticchio: the ancient church, whose apse was carved between two lava flows, certainly recalls Emperor Frederick II hunting with his falcon in the first half of the 13th century and the brigands hiding in the nearby woods at the end of the 19th. During this tree-day field trip, we will visit all these sites and learn more about how the volcano has affected their history. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the Gaudianello mineral water plant, whose waters contain CO2 coming directly from the earth mantle. We will also taste some fine Aglianico wine in cellars carved in the volcanic deposits. During these three days, we will of course have the chance to look at the deposits of Monte Vulture’s carbonatitic activity produced during the volcano’s last eruptive episode. This ultramafic magma, rich in mantle-derived nodules, was emitted from different diatremes on a fault of regional importance, that defined the morphological evolution of the volcano itself. The existence of this monogenetic volcanism of mantle origin is still today an element of potential volcanic risk for this area, in relation to possible new deep movements of these large faults. The Vulture area is, in fact, still very active, as the many recent earthquakes have testified. Participants will have the opportunity to see the traces of both recent and ancient seismic events in tephra deposits exposed of some breath-taking quarries sections.
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