The conference will take place in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. Verbania is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about 91 km (57 mi) north-west of Milan and about 40 km (25 mi) from Locarno in Switzerland. Find out how to get to Verbania or a selection of accommodation options.

Pre-conference excursion

This two-day excursion will visit the Ivrea-Verbano Zone in the Italian Alps, which is one of the most complete and best studied archetypal continental crust–upper mantle sections on Earth. The topics include regional amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism and partial melting associated with lower crustal magma emplacement, crustal assimilation, transcrustal magmatism including a super-eruption during the Permian. We will visit outcrops in Val Sesia (day 1) and Val Strona (day 2) that expose peridotites, lower crustal gabbros, migmatites (kinzingites), granulites (stronalites), a garnet-bearing granite and a caldera breccia. Daily transfers by minibus from Verbania in groups of maximum 30 people.

Itinerary of the excursion

• 01 September: Verbania – Val Sesia (Borgosesia to Balmuccia) – Verbania
• 02 September: Verbania – Val Strona (Forno) – Verbania

Logistics and accessibility

Travel in minivans (or small bus) on major roads; short walks (a few minutes each way) to outcrops on trails or tracks; picnic lunches (not included).

Cost: 80 €

Included: transport (each day a round trip from and to Verbania), coffee stops.

Excluded: lunches (picnic lunch should be purchased the day before), dinners, accommodation.

Limited to 60 participants

Post-conference excursion A

Three and a half days in Calabria (Serre Massif, Capo Vaticano Promontory and Palmi area) to explore the deep- to intermediate levels of a continuous and almost complete cross-section of late Variscan continental crust. We will start the field trip from metagabbros equilibrated at a depth of c. 35 km, and continue upward along the crustal section, visiting different types of felsic granulites, amazing outcrops of metapelitic migmatites and finally the deepest magmatic units of the c. 13-km thick Serre Batholith, consisting of quartz diorites/tonalites and overlying porphyritic granodiorites and granites. The topics will include: deep crustal metagabbros of debated protolith age and significance; crustal differentiation into residual lower crust and granitoid middle-upper crust; mechanisms and conditions of crustal melting; effects of magma emplacement at the lower crustal floor of the Serre Batholith; processes of magma-mush interaction; comparison with the Ivrea-Verbano Zone and Serie dei Laghi in the Southern Alps.

Itinerary of the excursion

• 06 September: Independent transfer from Verbania to Lamezia Terme airport (flights from Malpensa airport, not included). Overnight in a hotel in Lamezia Terme.
• 07 September: Acconia – Curinga – Francavilla Angitola – Amaroni – Soverato
  (overnight stay)
• 08 September: S. Vito sullo Ionio – Pietragrande Beach – Squillace – Vibo Marina –
  Ricadi (overnight stay)
• 09 September: Santa Maria Beach – Coccorino Beach– Michelino Beach – Ricadi
  (overnight stay)
• 10 September: Palmi Scoglio dell’Isola – Palmi turistic harbour – Palmi Ulivarella
  Beach (drop off at Lamezia Terme airport/train station at ca. 3 p.m.)

Logistics and accessibility

Travel by minivans (or small bus) on major or, sometimes, narrow roads; short walks to outcrops on trails, tracks or beaches. Picnic lunches. Accommodation in twin rooms with private bathroom in local hotels; single rooms might be available on request, at an additional cost.

Participants must arrive in Lamezia Terme by plane from Milano Malpensa airport on the evening of 6 September. Flight suggestions will be published on the website as soon as the full summer timetable is available from the airlines. A shuttle service from Lamezia airport to the hotel will be offered to all participants.

Contacts

Please contact patrizia.fiannacca@unict.it and/or antonio.langone@unipv.it if you have any questions about the excursion.

Cost: 680 €

Included: transport during the excursion + 4 nights in hotel in twin rooms, 3 dinners, 4 lunches.

Excluded: transport to and from Lamezia Terme airport.

Limited to 24 participants

Post-conference excursion B

The two and a half day excursion will visit classical outcrops in the Ivrea Zone and the Central Alps. We will follow an orogenic cycle from extension to oceanic crust formation and from subduction to collision. The first day in Finero will focus on the response of the lower crust and upper mantle during crustal extension, including mantle metasomatism, pyroxenite and gabbro formation, and granulite-facies metamorphism. The second day will focus on the high-pressure, high-temperature metamorphism of the iconic Alpe Arami garnet peridotite and associated kyanite eclogites related to Alpine subduction. We will also visit outcrops of Barrovian metamorphism and anatexis in the Zona di Bellinzona, related to Alpine collision. On the morning of the third day we will focus on structure and metamorphism related to the exhumation of the Central Alps.

Itinerary of the excursion

• 7 September: Verbania – Finero – Ascona (overnight stay)
• 8 September: Ascona – Alpe Arami – Bellinzona – Valle Verzasca – Ascona
• 9 September: Ascona – Arcegno – Ponte Brolla – Locarno (drop off at the train station at around 1 pm)

Logistics and accessibility

Travel in minivans on windy, sometimes narrow roads; short walks (up to 15 minutes each way) to outcrops on trails or tracks; picnic lunches (not included); accommodation in twin rooms with private bathroom at a hotel in Ascona; individual dinner in Ascona on Saturday (not included), group dinner at the hotel on Sunday (included).

Cost: 380 €

Included: transport (from Verbania in Italy to Bellinzona in Switzerland) + 2 nights in hotel in twin rooms in Ascona, Switzerland + 1 dinner + coffee stops.

Excluded: lunches (packed lunches can be purchased the day before); 1 dinner in Ascona.

Limited to 24 participants

Excursion “A geo-heritage marble”

Guided visit to the spectacular quarry of the pink granulite-facies marble used to build the Duomo of Milano. The visit also includes the workshop where the marble is cut. More information on the quarry can be found here.

Travel by minibus, minimal walking.

Limited to 50 participants

Excursion “Visit to the picturesque botanical gardens of Villa Taranto”

“Walking through the gardens of Villa Taranto is like travelling through foreign lands”.

The Villa is situated at walking distance from the conference centre. The visit includes a 2-hour self-guided tour and drinks on the lakeside. More information on the Villa can be found here.

Unlimited number of participants

• Alberto Zanetti, Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, Italy
• Daniela Rubatto, Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Switzerland (Chair)
• Othmar Müntener, Institute of Earth Sciences, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
• Antonio Langone, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Università di Pavia, Italy
• Pierre Lanari, Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, and SFMC
• Jörg Hermann, Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Switzerland
• Jacob Forshaw, Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Switzerland
• Patrizia Fiannacca, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Università di Catania, Italy
• Christian Chopin, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris (ENS), CNRS, SFMC, France
• Bernardo Cesare, Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Italy