Central Apennines Italy Research Articles

Effects of Forest Management on Beetle (Coleoptera) Communities in Beech Forests (Fagus sylvatica) in the Apennines of Central Italy (Tuscany)

In European mountains most beech forest areas have been managed for timber production. This practice has reduced the availability of biomass for the whole forest-dwelling species assemblage and of deadwood for the saproxylic community. Despite most of Italy’s beech stands having a long history of management, its effects on forest species remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we studied beetle abundance and diversity in five beech-dominated forests with increasing management intensity in central Italy’s Apennines (Tuscany). We assessed if forests with similar management intensity exhibited comparable patterns in beetle diversity, abundance, and commonness versus rarity. Three forests were managed with even-aged shelterwood; one was managed with continuous cover forestry; and one was old-growth. We found 25 beetle families and 195 species across all sites with similar total abundance and richness. However, the representation of the most abundant families varied among sampling sites (ANOVA test: always significant for the total abundance of the most abundant families: F ≥ 2.77, d.f. = 4, p ≤ 0.038). The old-growth forest harbored more threatened species than managed sites. Saproxylic assemblages were similar between the recently cut site and the old-growth forest, and between shelterwood and continuous cover sites. While the similarity gradient among the whole species assemblages reflected geographical proximity, the similarity gradient among saproxylic assemblages reflected the successional proximity among forest management systems. Our research underscores the effects of management on beetle diversity, offering insights for sustainable forestry.

Geo-archaeology, archaeometry, and history of a seismic-endangered historical site in central Apennines (Italy)

Ancient human settlements accumulate essential historical, archaeological, and geological information. An example is the St. Angel Cave, which preserves a Romanesque church and a complex of lustral tubs in the Eastern Maiella Massif (Central Apennines of Italy). Historical chronicles and archaeological data show that the church dates to the 10th–11th century. The archaeometry applied to the ceramic, coin, and wooden artefacts resulting from the excavation established a chronology of the periods of use and abandonment of the St. Angel Cave. The layering of architectural elements, changes in style, and alterations of the church structure account for two collapses. The first could be related to the poorly known 1209 earthquake. In addition, we describe the damage and changes to the structure and the use of space caused probably by the 1706 and 1933 earthquakes.

The Pretare-Piedilama Clastic Deposit: New Evidence of a Quaternary Rock Avalanche Event in Central Apennines (Italy)

This paper deals with the origin of the Pretare clastic deposit (PRA), which crops out along the Morricone fluvial valley in the Central Apennines of Italy. With the aim of deciphering the genesis of the PRA deposit, geological s.l. and geomorphological analyses were carried out allowing for the interpretation of the PRA deposit as a rock avalanche. Furthermore, geological cross sections constrained by well-log and field survey data, together with stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and morphometric analyses, allowed us to assign the deposit to a catastrophic rock slope failure, which occurred during a cold climate of the Late Pleistocene. Several issues concerning the propagation mechanisms were inferred from the mapping of 350 boulders over the entire accumulation area and from the measure of the morphometric parameters of the landslide body. We also performed a restoration of the potential source area by comparing the reconstructed pre- and post-failure DEMs. A missing volume of 8.41 × 106 m3 was estimated on the south-eastern side of the Vettore Mt., which is consistent with the deposit volume computed from the geological interpretation (10.56 × 106 m3). The outcomes of this study provide useful insights for a better understanding of the Quaternary morpho-evolution of the Central Apennines area where analogous rock avalanche events marked the recent evolution of the belt.

Reported mortality of Griffon VultureGyps fulvusin central Italy and indications for conservation and management

SummaryVultures are long-lived species sensitive to human-caused mortality that has already determined a widespread collapse in Asian and African populations. They provide significant ecosystem services (regulatory and cultural) consuming livestock carcasses and saving greenhouse gas emissions, favouring nutrient recycling, environmental sanitation, and providing financial revenue. Appraising the incidence and causes of mortality could help to improve management and conservation actions. We compiled records of reported mortalities for the reintroduced Griffon VultureGyps fulvuspopulation of the central Apennines in Italy (123 cases, July 1994–December 2020). The average mortality was 4.69 vultures per year (± 1.14 SE), with no significant temporal trend. The peak of mortality events, estimated by harmonic regression analysis, was in March, while the minimum occurred in October. No differences were found among age classes and sex ratio mortality was established at 1.43:1 (M:F,N= 68). Out of 103 (83.7%) vultures which underwent a post-mortem and toxicological screening, 53% were poisoned, mainly by carbamates, and 27% died of unknown causes. Overall, direct or indirect anthropogenic mortality caused 67% of deaths. Even considering an inherent bias associated with reported mortality as to the prevalence of causes of death and estimation of mortality rates, the overwhelming relevance of poisoning highlights that existing anti-poisoning efforts should be refined and incorporated into a coordinated multidisciplinary strategy. A standardised approach, from vulture carcass discovery to post-mortem procedures and toxicological analysis, should be applied to reduce uncertainty in the determination of causes of death, increasing effectiveness in the prosecution of wildlife crimes. As most of the poisoning cases affecting the Griffon Vulture population in the central Apennines likely represent a side (though illegal) effect of retaliatory efforts to defeat livestock predators, effective strategies in reducing human–wildlife conflicts should be applied.

An Updated List of Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca) Haplotypes from the Apennines—Central Italy

We report an updated and expanded list of Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca) haplotypes found in wild animals throughout the Apennines of central Italy. Samples were collected and identified during a monitoring program of autochthonous Galliformes and from a private collection. The haplotypes were identified on a longer fragment of the mitochondrial control region (D-loop) based on previously reported haplotypes. This novel evidence, based on a wider sampling area and a higher number of analyzed specimens, will be of relevance in both conservation projects and gamebird breeding for restock, as imposed by the Italian Action Plan. Studying longer fragments can also be useful for phylogeographic analysis.

Long-term morpho-structural development of major normal fault zones, Gran Sasso area, Central Apennines (Italy)

Although the Central Apennines of Italy are frequently struck by earthquakes related to normal faulting, so far, no detailed regional study into long-term development and mode of normal faulting exists. In this study, we focus on the Assergi fault zone (AFZ) and the Campo Imperatore fault zone (CIFZ) in the Gran Sasso area.Both fault zones are S-dipping and ~ 20 km in length. Range front faults with ~1 km of footwall topography are associated with basins in the hanging wall. To create footwall relief, long-term throw rates of >0.6 mm/a are required. We compared geologic throw with morphologic markers, such as range and triangular facet height, drainage basin size, spacing between drainage basin outlets, and surface offsets. The morphologic analysis allows to distinguish fault sectors that share morphological characteristics but typically include several mapped fault segments. The history of faulting of the CIFZ indicates that normal fault segments first acquire offset at a constant length until reaching a threshold, and then link with neighbouring fault segments into longer fault zones.Our study of the fault zones suggests the following general concept for long-term development of range-front fault morphology and associated slopes: (1) Surface offset by active faulting is followed, or accompanied, by incision of numerous small alluvial-fan catchments with narrow outlet spacing into the fault footwall. (2) Upon further fault growth, large triangular facets separated by gullies develop. By headward and lateral erosion the small fan catchments merge into fewer and larger catchments with larger outlet spacing. (3) During fault dormance, fault scarps degrade to lower-dipping slopes typically veneered by scree. On these slopes, scarps excavated by differential erosion expose Riedel shears of the main faults.

QUaternary fault strain INdicators database - QUIN 1.0 - first release from the Apennines of central Italy

We present QUIN, a “QUaternary fault strain INdicators database”, designed to integrate and unify published and unpublished local-scale geological information and derive strain parameters for structural and seismotectonic analyses. It provides data on 3339 Fault Striation Pairs (FSP; fault plane and slickenline), distributed within 455 survey sites. These are exposed along the intra-Apennine Quaternary extensional faults of Central Italy. The area covers an extent of ~550 km in a NW-SE direction. We give information on FSP location, attitude and kinematics, and deformation axes. We also provide an original shapefile of the faults hosting the FSP. A large amount of homogeneously distributed Quaternary fault/slip data help to clarify and implement the contemporary geometric and kinematic deformation pattern of Central Italy that appears scattered and incomplete whenever exclusively derived from earthquake data. The high-density of structural data can help investigate stress pattern heterogeneities at local scales, with relevance for new generations of hazard assessment evaluation and a better understanding of rupture propagation and related barriers.

Prediction of Snowmelt Days Using Binary Logistic Regression in the Umbria-Marche Apennines (Central Italy)

Snow cover in a mountain area is a physical parameter that induces quite rapid changes in the landscape, from a geomorphological point of view. In particular, snowmelt plays a crucial role in the assessment of avalanche risk, so it is essential to know the days when snowmelt is expected, in order to prepare operational alert levels. Moreover, melting of the snow cover has a direct effect on the recharge of the water table, as well as on the regulation of the vegetative cycle of mountain plants. Therefore, a study on snowmelt, its persistence on the ground, and the height of the snow cover in the Umbria-Marche Apennines in central Italy is of great interest, since this is an area that is extremely poorly sampled and analysed. This study was conducted on the basis of four mountain weather stations equipped with a recently installed sonar-based snow depth gauge, so that a relatively short period, 2010–2020, was evaluated. A trend analysis revealed non-significant decreases in snow cover height and snow persistence time, in contrast to the significant increasing trend of mean temperature, while parameters such as relative humidity and wind speed did not appear to have a dominant trend. Further analysis showed relationships between snowmelt and the climatic parameters considered, leading to the definition of a mathematical model developed using the binary logistic regression technique, and having a predictive power of 82.6% in the case of days with snowmelt on the ground. The aim of this study was to be a first step towards models aimed at preventing avalanche risk, hydrological risk, and plant species adaptation, as well as providing a more complete definition of the climate of the study area.

Assessing active and capable faulting as best practice for post-earthquake reconstruction activities: the Sant’Eutizio Abbey case study, in the epicentral area of the 2016 central Italy seismic sequence

Surface faulting is, together with strong ground shaking, a hazard associated with major earthquake faults. Assessing surface faulting potential of a given active tectonic structure is a fundamental prerequisite to adequately plan the use of territories and to perform new constructions, in order to act practices aimed to mitigate the associated risk. Assessing the surface faulting potential represents also ground for correctly performing re-construction and retrofitting of buildings and infrastructures during post-earthquake activities. We investigated a branch of a major seismogenic normal fault in the central Apennines of Italy, the Campi-Preci fault, along which the monumental Sant’Eutizio Abbey is located. The medieval Abbey is one of the most important cultural/religious edifices of the central Apennines, heavily damaged by the MW 6.5 October 30, 2016, earthquake, focused a few km to the south. Our study, based on field geological, geomorphological and structural survey and trenching investigations revealed that I) the trace of the Campi-Preci active fault branch is not actually located where presently reported in the available literature, II) the supposed morpho-tectonic features (basically, some km-long scarp carved on the Meso-Cenozoic carbonate bedrock), that suggested the presence of the fault segment in the area of the Sant’Eutizio Abbey, are not related to the active fault but are probably associated to a presently inactive reverse fault and III) the Sant’Eutizio Abbey is likely not potentially affected by primary surface faulting. Our work highlights that only a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach allows to correctly assess surface faulting potential in both seismotectonic and engineering perspectives.

Unexpected Findings in 16th Century Wall Paintings: Identification of Aragonite and Unusual Pigments

Sixteenth century wall paintings were analyzed from a church in an advanced state of decay in the Apennines of central Italy, now a remote area but once located along the salt routes from the Po Valley to the Ligurian Sea. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with a microprobe were used to identify the painting materials, as input for possible future restoration. Together with the pigments traditionally used for wall painting, such as ochre, ultramarine blue, bianco di Sangiovanni, cinnabar/vermilion, azurite, some colors were also found to have only been used since the 18th century. This thus suggests that a series of decorative cycles occurred after the church was built, confirmed by the multilayer stratigraphy of the fragments. Some of these colors were also unusual, such as clinochlore, Brunswick green, and ultramarine yellow. The most notable result of the analytical campaign however, was the ubiquitous determination of aragonite, the mineralogical form of calcium carbonate, mainly of biogenic origin. Sources report its use in Roman times as an aggregate in mortars, and in the literature it has only been shown in Roman wall paintings. Its use in 16th century wall paintings is thus surprising.

Assessing Forest Structural and Topographic Effects on Habitat Productivity for the Endangered Apennine Brown Bear

Any forest management potentially affects the availability and quality of resources for forest-dwelling wildlife populations, including endangered species. One such species is the Apennine brown bear, a small and unique population living in the central Apennines of Italy. The conservation of this relict bear population is hampered by the lack of knowledge of the fine-scale relationships between productivity of key foods and forest structure, as this prevents the design and implementation of effective forest management plans. To address this issue, we sampled the main structural stand attributes within the bear’s range and used multivariate generalized linear mixed models in a Bayesian framework to relate forest structural attributes to proxies of productivity of key bear foods. We found that hard mast was positively associated with both forest typology and high forest system, but negatively related to both the time elapsed since the last forest utilization and the amount of deadwood. The availability of soft-mast producing species was positively related to past forestry practices but negatively associated with steep slopes historically managed with high tree densities and a low silvicultural disturbance. Our findings also suggest that herb cover was negatively affected by terrain steepness and basal area, while herb productivity was positively affected by northern and southern exposure. Additionally, richness of forest ants was associated with forests characterized by low volume and high density. Our findings confirm that the productivity of natural bear foods is strongly affected by forest structural and topographical characteristics and are relevant as preliminary information for forest management practices to support the long-term conservation of Apennine bears.

Performance of Fiber Reinforced Mortar coating for irregular stone masonry: Experimental and analytical investigations

Nowadays, the application of Fiber Reinforced Mortar (FRM) is widely used for the consolidation and rehabilitation of masonry structures because represents an effective solution in terms of reversibility and applicability. The paper illustrates the results of cyclic diagonal compression tests performed in situ on stone masonry specimens isolated from the walls of a historic building of L’Aquila (Italy). The tested stone masonry is representative of existing structures of the territories of the central Apennines in Italy. Only two of four panels were strengthened by FRM to provide also the reference value of the unreinforced masonry. The FRM comprised a glass-fiber grid embedded in a natural hydraulic lime (NHL)-based mortar applied as a coating to the masonry surfaces as well as carbon shear connectors. The tests were analyzed to derive the shear strength and the shear modulus of the masonry, as well as their evolution during the tests. Moreover, these tests were compared and integrated with a consistent number of experimental data collected in the current literature aiming to validate a new analytical equation for the estimation of the shear strength of the reinforced masonry, merely based on the properties of the unreinforced masonry and the FRM mortar.

THE MEMORY OF PLACES: THE SURVEY, REINVENTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF A SMALL AGRICULTURAL ARTEFACT IN THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE OF QUOTA, CASENTINO, ITALY

Abstract. The "history" of places exists as a stratification process of events that have occurred over time in a specific place, leaving more or less appreciable physical traces. The "memory" of the places, instead, is the result of a conscious choice of events to be handed down to future generations constructing the identity of a community and a recognisable image of places. It is in this sense that the project conducted in Quota, a mountain village in central Tuscany, Italy should be interpreted and set. The urban redevelopment process led to the design and reconstruction of a small agricultural artefact, particularly important to the local community given its location near a public fountain. Initially identified as the subject of an exercise to be conducted as part of the Thematic Seminar "Survey, redevelopment and redesign of architecture and environment", the redesign offered an opportunity to "re-invent" a neglected corner of the village taking as reference the traces of the ancient village fountains to create the plot of a new "story" involving the small local community. The reconstruction was carried out using traditional techniques with stone ashlars and cement mortar. To complete it, a corten steel staircase designed with reverse engineering methods and modelled using experimental 3D photo-modelling was created. The "Quota chestnut dryer" proved to be a virtuous process involving various subjects to enable the recovery of a degraded area, a possible model for the preservation of villages in the Apennines of central Italy, authentic sites of collective memory.

Ornatorotalia pila n. sp. from the late Palaeocene of Iran: ecological, evolutionary and paleobiogeographic inferences

ABSTRACT The upper Palaeocene shallow-water carbonates of the Qorban member (Sachun Formation) in Iran are characterised by a well-diversified larger Foraminifera and green algae assemblages. A new ornatorotaliid species, Ornatorotalia pila n. sp., is described from such deposits. The age of the new taxon is assigned to SBZ4 (late Thanetian) by the co-occurrence of Daviesina langhami, Idalina sinjarica, Lockartia retiata and Dictyokathina simplex. This new record gives further evidences on the biogeographic expansion of throughout the Neo-Tethys during the Palaeocene-early Eocene. Ornatorotaliids were shallow-water dwellers taxa that thrived in both vegetated and unvegetated bottoms. Possibly, Ornatorotalia pila n. sp. rooted in the Selandian, likely related to a possible ancestor described in open nomenclature from the Central Apennines of Italy.

Site effects and widespread susceptibility to permanent coseismic deformation in the Avezzano town (Fucino basin, Central Italy): Constraints from detailed geological study

The Quaternary Fucino basin in the central Apennines of Italy was struck by one of the strongest Italian earthquakes of the last millennium (1915, Mw 7.0). The Avezzano town, ~ 9.0 km away from the epicentre, was completely destroyed. In the surrounding area sizable coseismic surface deformation were catalogued, attesting the severity of earthquake, the proximity to the causative fault and the geological and geomorphological complexity of a basin filled by thick lacustrine sediments.The Avezzano area provides a case study to understand how shallow subsurface geology influences site effects in a deep Quaternary continental basin environment, thus being of potential interest for similar geologic contexts worldwide. Within the investigated area, different possible earthquake-induced effects can occur, such as a) stratigraphic amplifications in a wide range of resonance frequencies (from 0.4 to 15–20 Hz); b) liquefaction; c) coseismic surface faulting; d) basin-edge effects; and e) slope instability.We present and discuss results of basic seismic microzonation study (SM) of the Avezzano area, focusing on geologic constraints aimed at the reconstruction of the shallow subsurface geology, and associated potential for local seismic hazard.We adopted an interdisciplinary approach based on detailed geological-structural, geophysical and seismic analyses to investigate the seismic response of high-seismic risk area, such as the Avezzano town, given the urban and industrial expansion since the last century. We discuss methodological approaches and their uncertainties.

Geological mapping reveals the role of Early Jurassic rift architecture in the dispersal of calciturbidites: New insights from the Central and Northern Apennines

AbstractThe role of sea‐bottom topography in the dispersal of shallow water‐derived calciturbidites across a submarine rift, as determined by the local extensional architecture, is under‐investigated, namely with pelagic settings along ancient passive continental margins. A comparison with modern carbonate platform/basin analogues, or with siliciclastic systems, is not always feasible, as ancient carbonate systems were commonly home to anachronistic environments (e.g. the Western Tethyan Mesozoic). Our study focuses on: (a) a reconstruction of the palaeotectonic architecture of the Umbria‐Marche Basin in the Jurassic and on (b) how this architecture produced a submarine topography which governed the dispersal of sediment, shed by the neighbouring Lazio‐Abruzzo Carbonate Platform, for >40 million years. A geological mapping project was performed in the Apennines of Central Italy, a region which in the Jurassic displayed a pattern of intrabasinal highs (pelagic carbonate platforms) and intervening basins which was exceedingly complex due to the high density, and oddly variable trends, of faults rooted in a shallow detachment layer corresponding to thick Triassic salt. A map pairing the occurrences of these resedimented beds with an updated palaeogeography becomes the natural descriptor of the itineraries followed by sediment gravity flows. This qualitative method represents a companion, or even alternative, approach to the one strictly based on physical stratigraphy, and it greatly improves our knowledge of regional geology and rift‐basin analysis. Our case history potentially represents the analogue of hydrocarbon fields both inland and in the offshore. Geological mapping shows that the marginal palaeoescarpments of pelagic carbonate platforms formed obstacles to the gravity flows as sediment load was discharged at their toes. While turbidity flows were locally vigorous enough to climb the escarpments, leaving overbank deposits on the pelagic carbonate platform‐tops, a ‘shelter’ effect is evidenced by the resediment‐free nature of those basins lying downflow, which were shielded by the highs.

Distribution of joints in the hinge-line culmination of foreland-verging overturned anticlines: an example from the Montagna dei Fiori structure in the Central Apennines of Italy

AbstractThe distribution of joints, veins and shear fractures in the Montagna dei Fiori overturned anticline is here reported. Two joint sets, longitudinal and transverse to the NNW–SSE anticline axial trend, and a conjugate system of shear fractures, are recognized. The transverse and longitudinal joint sets have a pre-folding development likely related to the foreland/foredeep flexure. The transverse joints were reopened during layer-parallel shortening along with the development of the shear fractures. Then, during syn-folding outer-arc extension and hinge-line culmination fold-axial parallel extension, both the longitudinal and transverse joints were enhanced and reactivated, respectively.

Apelin System in Mammary Gland of Sheep Reared in Semi-Natural Pastures of the Central Apennines.

Simple SummaryGrazing activity is fundamental to natural grassland biodiversity preservation. Increasing summer aridity decreases the grassland pastoral value, negatively affecting animal morpho-functional features and production with detrimental effects on the extensive sheep farming sustainability. Since adipokines represent a link between a subject’s energy availability and tissue metabolism, we investigated the presence and distribution of the system composed of the adipokine apelin and its receptor in the mammary gland of sheep during the period between maximum flowering and maximum dryness of the pasture, providing a group of sheep with food supplementation. This work represents a part of a wider study aimed to buffer the negative effects of increasing summer drought stress on farm income and to maintain the grassland biodiversity. Our findings improve the knowledge of apelin/receptor system function on the sheep mammary gland and this could be a useful tool in the farm management practices.Sheep are the most bred species in the Central Italy Apennine using the natural pastures as a trophic resource and grazing activity is fundamental to maintain the grassland biodiversity: this goal can be reached only ensuring an economical sustainability to the farmers. This study aimed to investigate the apelin/apelin receptor system in ovine mammary gland and to evaluate the differences induced by food supplementation, in order to shed light on this system function. A flock of 15 Comisana x Appenninica adult dry ewes were free to graze from June until pasture maximum flowering (MxF). From this period to pasture maximum dryness (MxD), in addition to grazing, the experimental group (Exp) was supplemented with 600 g/day/head of cereals. Apelin and apelin receptor were assessed by Real-Time PCR and immunohistochemistry on the mammary glands of subjects pertaining to MxF, MxD and Exp groups. They were detected in alveolar and ductal epithelial cells. The pasture maximum flowering group showed significant differences in apelin expression compared with experimental and MxD groups. Apelin receptor expression significantly differed among the three groups. The reduced apelin receptor expression and immunoreactivity levels during parenchyma involution enables us to hypothesize that apelin receptor plays a modulating role in the system control.

Grotta Mora Cavorso: Physical, material and symbolic boundaries of life and death practices in a Neolithic cave of central Italy

Grotta Mora Cavorso is a multi-stratified site located in the inner Apennines in Central Italy. The archaeological deposit found in it spans from Upper Palaeolithic to World War II, and holds one of the largest Neolithic burial deposits currently known in Italy. This work will seek to analyse and interconnect all the pieces of evidence collected during ten years of multidisciplinary investigation at the site, in order to understand several aspects of this peculiar anthropized cave and the wider implications in the whole of the Italian and Mediterranean region, with a specific focus on Neolithic occupation. First of all, we will integrate the data coming from three distinct sectors of the cave which appear to have been used in different ways (Entrance Room for everyday-life activities, Intermediate Room for rituals and Inner Rooms for burials), in the attempt to understand the links between these spaces and to draw a complete picture of the life and death practices during the late 6th millennium BC at Grotta Mora Cavorso. Secondly, through the unique dataset of artefactual, ecofactual, molecular and geological data provided by this cave, we will explore the meaning of such practices in the early Neolithic of Italy and the Mediterranean basin. By combining the DNA, isotope, demographic and morphological data coming from the study of the 28 individuals buried in the cave, we will try to find out whether social selection was already occurring at the time. In addition, spatial studies will allow us to clarify if funerary rituals were disconnected from everyday life or if there was a conceptual and practical continuity between these two aspects of human life. As a final aim for this work, we intend to use Grotta Mora Cavorso and its archaeological potential as an example on how to successfully integrate science and social studies in archaeology, in order to reach deeper understandings of human behaviour in prehistory.

Syn‐Contractional Overprinting Between Extension and Shortening Along the Montagna Dei Fiori Fault During Plio‐Pleistocene Antiformal Stacking at the Central Apennines Thrust Wedge Toe

AbstractThe Montagna dei Fiori fault vertically offsets the crest of the NW‐SE trending Montagna dei Fiori anticline in the distal foothills of the central Apennines. There are several interpretations to explain this extensional fault system in close proximity to the Apennine deformation front. A prefolding age of the Montagna dei Fiori fault prevails in models and ideas, based on evidence of Triassic to Early Jurassic rift‐related faults and on thickness and facies distribution of Miocene sediments. However, overprint relationships between extension and shortening are generally speculative and relative age constraints are loose. In this paper we provide an alternative interpretation based on new structural and geochemical data that does not support any preshortening scenarios. The outcrops show that (1) failure of the prerift to syn‐rift Jurassic platform carbonates is controlled by a pattern of ~ N‐S and E‐W fault trends, (2) cessation of fault activity coincides with a breakup unconformity of Late Jurassic age, and (3) a large variety of S‐C shear fabrics occurs along the Montagna dei Fiori fault. Petrography, C‐O stable isotope, and microthermometric data of calcite veins provide constraints on the environmental conditions of deformation. Our multidisciplinary data set favors a partitioning of strain by the interaction of horizontal shortening and related uplift, and by gravitational reequilibration controlled by antiformal stacking underneath the Montagna dei Fiori anticline. Therefore, shortening and extensional strain fields are genetically connected, coeval, while nucleating from different levels in the mechanical stratigraphy. We discuss the implications of this model on the seismo‐tectonic framework of active faulting in the central Apennines of Italy.