Northern Latium Research Articles

An integrated approach for the benthic habitat mapping based on innovative surveying technologies and ecosystem functioning measurements

Among marine ecosystems globally, those in the Mediterranean Sea, are facing many threats. New technologies are crucial for enhancing our understanding of marine habitats and ecosystems, which can be complex and resource-intensive to analyse using traditional techniques. We tested, for the first time, an integrated multi-platform approach for mapping the coastal benthic habitat in the Civitavecchia (northern Latium, Italy) coastal area. This approach includes the use of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV), and in situ measurements of ecosystem functionality. The echosounder data allowed us to reconstruct the distribution of bottom types, as well as the canopy height and coverage of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Our study further involved assessing the respiration (Rd) and net primary production (NCP) rates of P. oceanica and its associated community through in situ benthic chamber incubation. By combining these findings with the results of USV surveys, we were able to develop a preliminary spatial distribution model for P. oceanica primary production (PP-SDM). The P. oceanica PP-SDM was applied between the depths of 8 and 10 m in the studied area and the obtained results showed similarities with other sites in the Mediterranean Sea. Though in the early stages, our results highlight the significance of multi-platform observation data for a thorough exploration of marine ecosystems, emphasizing their utility in forecasting biogeochemical processes in the marine environment.

“il Casone-Monte delle Fate” olistostrome in the middle Eocene of the Eastern External Ligurian Unit (Monti della Tolfa, northern Latium, Italy): new constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the northern Apennines

“il Casone-Monte delle Fate” olistostrome in the middle Eocene of the Eastern External Ligurian Unit (Monti della Tolfa, northern Latium, Italy): new constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the northern Apennines

Natural Sinkhole Monitoring and Characterization: The Case of Latera Sinkhole (Latium, Central Italy)

The occurrence of sinkhole phenomena in Italy is a prevalent and very uncertain class of geological hazards that pose a significant threat to human infrastructure and individuals. These events are characterized by their unpredictability and the challenges associated with their accurate forecasting. Both natural and anthropic factors influence the occurrence of these events; therefore, accurate identification of the above factors is critical for effective proactive and predictive efforts. The work presented in this paper refers to a collapse that occurred in a volcanic region in northern Latium (central Italy) on 31 January 2023. The area has been monitored using drones since the early stages of the sinkhole’s formation and has continued to date. Then, the collapse and the neighboring area were examined via geophysical and geochemical investigations to identify potential underlying factors. Geophysical and geochemical data were combined to provide a preliminary hypothesis on the collapse’s genesis. The obtained data indicate that the structural collapse can be attributable to the fluctuation in groundwater levels as well as the development of instabilities along its banks, leading to a growth in its dimensions.

Archaeobotanical Evidence of Funerary Plant Offerings at the Southern Etrurian Necropolis of “Valle Santa nell’Agro Veientano” (Rome, Italy)

The present study concerns the archaeobotanical analysis of soil samples and vase fillings from Etruscan tombs from the Necropolis of “Valle Santa nell’Agro Veientano”, found along via di Boccea, north of Rome (Italy). While the site was in use between the Archaic and Late Roman Age, the studied vestibule tombs belong to the Etruscan necropolis (second half of the 6th – beginning of the 4th centuries BC). Archaeological data, based on the incineration rite and funerary equipment, suggest that these were used by one high-status family (or two) originally from Veio. Carpological analyses reveal the presence of food plants comprised of cereals, pulses and fruits. Furthermore, anthracological data give indications concerning the past environment, with a prevalence of deciduous and semi-deciduous oaks, accompanied by other taxa such as evergreen oaks, hornbeam, ash and Rosaceae Prunoideae. This is in accordance with the present-day vegetation of northern Latium. Finally, remains of synanthropic weeds (e.g., Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae and Polygonaceae) suggest a heavily anthropized environment. This study represents a step forward in the understanding of the still under-explored human-plant interactions of Etruscans.

Resource Extraction in a Marginal Space: Mining Revival and the Environment in Southern Tuscany and Northern Latium at the Turn of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

Abstract At the end of the Middle Ages and at the beginning of Modern Times, the 'Maremma' and the 'Colline Metalliferi' in southern Tuscany experienced intense extractive activity. The minerals and water and forest resources available in the region allowed the production of metals (iron, copper, perhaps silver) and especially sulphates (alum, vitriol) which were massively exported, sometimes as far as Northern Europe. Located on the margins of three powerful states, i.e. the Papal States and the Republics of Florence and Siena, the area was far from major urban centres (Rome, Florence, Siena) but was the subject of sustained attention by urban elites such as the Medici, Spannocchi, Chigi and other families, to the detriment of rural communities. By cross-referencing the documentary sources of rural municipalities and territorial States (deliberations, notarised deeds, private accounts), the article aims to show how this marginal space became in a few decades a major economic and political issue within the peninsula; how it was exploited, thanks to specific structures of production and rural space governance; and finally how this development drove environmental degradation through disturbances in the Maremma river system.

GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS IN THE NORTHERN APENNINES, ITALY: MODERN ANALOGUES OF CARLIN-STYLE GOLD DEPOSITS

Abstract Carlin-type gold deposits in northern Nevada are inferred to overlie concealed late Eocene plutons, which are increasingly thought to have provided magmatic input to the meteoric water-dominated fluids from which the gold was precipitated. The Larderello, Monte Amiata, and Latera geothermal systems in the Northern Apennines of southern Tuscany and northern Latium, central Italy, may represent Pliocene to present-day analogues because of their demonstrated association with subsurface plutons and jasperoid-hosted antimony-gold mineralization. The plutons, which at depths of >5–7 km remain at least partially molten, continue to supply heat and magmatic fluids to the meteoric water-dominated geothermal systems. Formerly mined antimony deposits of Pliocene or younger age are exposed on the peripheries of the CO2 ± H2S-emitting geothermal systems, and antimony sulfides are still actively precipitating. Stibnite and submicroscopic gold in disseminated pyrite, along with Au/Ag of <0.5 and anomalous As, Hg, Tl, and Ba values, accompanied jasperoid formation in the Northern Apennines systems. Carlin-type mineralization in northern Nevada and the antimony-gold mineralization in the Northern Apennines are hosted by permeable carbonate rocks, particularly stratabound breccias, where they are intersected by steep normal or oblique-slip faults and confined beneath tectonically emplaced hydrologic seals. The Northern Apennines antimony-gold mineralization formed at shallow, epithermal depths, like that recently recognized in the southern Carlin trend of northern Nevada. Although underexplored, the Northern Apennines gold prospects are unlikely to ever attain the giant status of the Carlin-type deposits in northern Nevada, probably because of lower magmatic fertility (ilmenite-series rather than magnetite-series magmatism) and host-rock receptivity (less reactive iron). Nevertheless, shallow carbonate-rock aquifers within high-temperature, intrusion-related geothermal systems, be they extinct or still active, may be prospective for Carlin-style gold deposits.

Petrogenesis of Mediterranean lamproites and associated rocks: The role of overprinted metasomatic events in the post-collisional lithospheric upper mantle

Abstract High-MgO lamproite and lamproite-like (i.e. lamprophyric) ultrapotassic rocks are recurrent in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions. They are associated in space and time with ultrapotassic shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline rocks. This magmatism is linked with the geodynamic evolution of the westernmost sector of the Alpine–Himalayan collisional margin, which followed the closure of the Tethys Ocean. Subduction-related lamproites, lamprophyres, shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline suites were emplaced in the Mediterranean region in the form of shallow level intrusions (e.g. plugs, dykes and laccoliths) and small volume lava flows, with very subordinate pyroclastic rocks, starting from the Oligocene, in the Western Alps (northern Italy), through the Late Miocene in Corsica (southern France) and in Murcia-Almeria (southeastern Spain), to the Plio-Pleistocene in Southern Tuscany and Northern Latium (central Italy), in the Balkan peninsula (Serbia and Macedonia) and in the Western Anatolia (Turkey). The ultrapotassic rocks are mostly lamprophyric, but olivine latitic lavas with a clear lamproitic affinity are also found, as well as dacitic to trachytic differentiated products. Lamproite-like rocks range from slightly silica under-saturated to silica over-saturated composition, have relatively low Al 2 O 3 , CaO and Na 2 O contents, resulting in plagioclase-free parageneses, and consist of abundant K-feldspar, phlogopite, diopsidic clinopyroxene and highly forsteritic olivine. Leucite is generally absent, and it is rarely found only in the groundmasses of Spanish lamproites. Mediterranean lamproites and associated rocks share an extreme enrichment in many incompatible trace elements and depletion in High Field Strength Elements and high, and positively correlated Th/La and Sm/La ratios. They have radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd isotope compositions, high 207 Pb over 206 Pb and high time-integrated 232 Th/ 238 U. Their composition requires an originally depleted lithospheric mantle source metasomatized by at least two different agents: (1) a high Th/La and Sm/La (i.e. SALATHO) component deriving from lawsonite-bearing, ancient crustal domains likely hosted in mélanges formed during the diachronous collision of the northward drifting continental slivers from Gondwana; (2) a K-rich component derived from a recent subduction and recycling of siliciclastic sediments. These metasomatic melts produced a lithospheric mantle source characterized by network of felsic and phlogopite-rich veins, respectively. Geothermal readjustment during post-collisional events induced progressive melting of the different types of veins and the surrounding peridotite generating the entire compositional spectrum of the observed magmas. In this complex scenario, orogenic Mediterranean lamproites represent rocks that characterize areas that were affected by multiple Wilson cycles, as observed in the Alpine–Himalayan Realm.

Halogenated Volatile Organic Compounds in Water Samples and Inorganic Elements Levels in Ores for Characterizing a High Anthropogenic Polluted Area in the Northern Latium Region (Italy).

This paper shows a characterization of the organic and inorganic fraction of river waters (Tiber and Marta) and ores/soil samples collected in the Northern Latium region of Italy for evaluating the anthropogenic/natural source contribution to the environmental pollution of this area. For organic compounds, organochloride volatile compounds in Tiber and Marta rivers were analyzed by two different clean-up methods (i.e., liquid–liquid extraction and static headspace) followed by gas chromatography–electron capture detector (GC-ECD) analysis. The results show very high concentrations of bromoform (up to 1.82 and 3.2 µg L−1 in Tiber and Marta rivers, respectively), due to the presence of greenhouse crops, and of chloroform and tetrachloroethene, due to the presence of handicrafts installations. For the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the inorganic fraction, it is highlighted the use of a nuclear analytical method, instrumental neutron activation analysis, which allows having more information as possible from the sample without performing any chemical-physical pretreatment. The results have evidenced high levels of mercury (mean value 88.6 µg g−1), antimony (77.7 µg g−1), strontium (12,039 µg g−1) and zinc (103 µg g−1), whereas rare earth elements show levels similar to the literature data. Particular consideration is drawn for arsenic (414 µg g−1): the levels found in this paper (ranging between 1 and 5100 µg g−1) explain the high content of such element (as arsenates) in the aquifer, a big issue in this area.

Elite Food Between the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance: Some Case Studies from Latium

ABSTRACT The study of plant and animal remains from archaeological sites provides important evidence about past human diets and habits: this includes species selection, food preparation, consumption and disposal practices. Furthermore, such information may also provide inferences about social status. Data from refuse disposal features identified in some elite contexts in central Italy – a high-status residence in Celleno Vecchio (Viterbo) and the Baglioni-Santacroce castle in Graffignano (Viterbo), both in northern Latium, as well as the Santi Quattro Coronati ecclesiastical complex in Rome – allow to explore, using archaeobotanical, archaeozoological and genetic data, some of the different ways in which people expressed wealth by means of food during a period between the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Hydrogeology of the southern Middle Tiber Valley (Central Italy)

The aim of this work is to contribute to the hydrogeological knowledge regarding the southern Middle Tiber Valley focusing on the continental and marine units that fill the Paglia-Tiber graben in the northern Latium Region (central Italy). An important hydrogeological survey was performed in the summer of 2008, and a considerable quantity of piezometric, physio-chemical and flow data were collected. Four geological cross sections were realized, and a hydrogeological map and a groundwater quality map of the area were produced to obtain a conceptual groundwater flow model.

Digital imaging techniques applied to a case of concha bullosa from an early medieval funerary area in central Italy

ObjectiveConcha bullosa is a rather common condition of the nasal turbinates, rarely reported in archaeological skeletal collections. This paper examines a case of concha bullosa as seen in a female cranium from a burial in central Italy, dated to the Longobard domination in the Peninsula (mid-7th– early 8th century CE). MaterialsThe individual under investigation (T86/17) comes from the funerary area of Selvicciola, located near the town of Viterbo in northern Latium, Italy. MethodsThe skeleton was macroscopically examined. We analyzed the CT-scans of the defect by applying innovative R-based virtual tools. ResultsIt was possible to calculate the inner volume of the concha bullosa and to provide a 3D visual assessment of its shape. ConclusionsIts size and shape suggest that the individual had this condition for a considerable period of time, during which its presence may have had affected her daily activities and health status. SignificanceAn under-represented paleopathological defect is examined for the first time through a virtual approach aimed at visualizing its shape and the assessment of its volume. New methods of 3D based virtual assessment can increase the informative value of defects. Suggestions for Further ResearchTechniques used in this assessment should be considered as an evaluative tool for other conditions when macroscopic and radiographic imaging are limited.

Monti Sabatini and Colli Albani: the dormant twin volcanoes at the gates of Rome

This multi-disciplinary work provides an updated assessment of possible future eruptive scenarios for the city of Rome. Seven new 40Ar/39Ar ages from selected products of the Monti Sabatini and Vulsini volcanic districts, along with a compilation of all the literature ages on the Colli Albani and Vico products, are used to reconstruct and compare the eruptive histories of the Monti Sabatini and Colli Albani over the last 900 ka, in order to define their present state of activity. Petrographic analyses of the dated units characterize the crystal cargo, and Advanced-InSAR analysis highlights active deformation in the MS. We also review the historical and instrumental seismicity affecting this region. Based on the chronology of the most recent phases and the time elapsed between the last eruptions, we conclude that the waning/extinguishment of eruptive activity shifted progressively from NW to SE, from northern Latium toward the Neapolitan area, crossing the city of Rome. Although Monti Sabatini is unaffected by the unrest indicators presently occurring at the Colli Albani, it should be regarded as a dormant volcanic district, as the time of 70 kyr elapsed since the last eruption is of the same order of the longest dormancies occurred in the past.

Microlitter pollution in coastal sediments of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy: microplastics and fly-ash occurrence and distribution

Marine litter is included in the eleven descriptors of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) necessary for the assessment of the marine environmental status. In this work, we studied the abundance and typology of microparticles extracted from coastal sediments in the northern Latium area, Tyrrhenian sea, Italy. Particles having different shapes (fragments, microspheres, and filaments), size and color were recognized to belong to two typologies, i.e. microplastics (MPs) and aluminum silicate microspheres (ASMs) interpreted as fly-ash produced by fossil fuel combustion. MPs abundances were comparable with data from the literature related to the same depositional contexts in the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere, while ASMs contributed 32% to the total average microlitter abundance in this coastal area. MPs and ASMs distribution could reflect the contributions of the land-based sources and the hydrodynamic features of the study area.

Was the Cinta Senese Pig Already a Luxury Food in the Late Middle Ages? Ancient DNA and Archaeozoological Evidence from Central Italy.

The Cinta senese is a pig breed, highly esteemed for its meat and derived products, characterized by a black coat with a typical white “belt” and documented by scant iconography, since the 13th–14th century in Italy. A piece of pottery showing a Cinta pig was found in the Graffignano castle (Northern Latium, Italy) dated 15th–16th centuries, spurring us to investigate the diet of the inhabitants. Ancient DNA analysis was carried out on 21 pig specimens on three nuclear SNPs: (1) g.43597545C>T, on the KIT gene, informative for the identification of the Cinta senese breed; (2) rs81460129, on an intergenic region in chr. 16, which discriminates between domestic pigs and wild boars, and; (3) a SNP on the ZFY/ZFX homologous genes, to determine the sex of the individuals. Our results indicate that the Cinta senese was present in Northern Latium in Late Medieval time, although it was not the only breed, and that pigs, including Cinta, interbred with wild boars, suggesting free-range breeding for all types of pigs. Moreover, the unexpected high proportion of young females may be considered as evidence for the wealth of the family inhabiting the castle.

Meat quality of Maremmana young bulls

Maremmana is a local Italian breed reared in southern Tuscany and northern Latium. Twenty-two young bulls were reared in pasture system with concentrate supply (PSCS), whereas 20 young bulls were reared in feedlot intensive system (IS) in order test differences between meat typologies. The bulls were slaughtered at 18 months old. The performances at slaughtering were similar between finishing systems. IS bull meat has shown higher cooking loss than PSCS bull meat (p < 0.001), higher moisture content (p < 0.01), and fat (p < 0.001), and lower crude protein (p < 0.001). The SFA, MUFA and PUFA percentage were similar between meat typologies; whereas if considered in mg per 100 gr of muscle MUFA and SFA content was higher in PSCS meat (p < 0.05). Among the Healthy Indices, C18:2/C18:3 was higher in IS System (14.08 vs. 9.77; p < 0.001); the results of the PCA (Principal Component Analysis) of fatty acids composition showed that PSCS meat was characterized by MUFA and SFA, while IS meat was identified by C18:2/C18:3, and ω6/ ω3.

Comparative EEG characteristics in patients with neurotic and neurosis-like disorders

In the study, we describe the sedimentary dynamics in a shallow-water seagrass meadow. We examined the dynamics of vertical sedimentation flux over a Posidonia oceanica meadow during the course of a one-year investigation. Total sedimentary flux was monitored off the northern Latium coast (Italy) in the central Tyrrhenian Sea using sediment traps from October 2015 to December 2016 at three stations established on bare sand, in the P. oceanica meadow, and on a sand patch within the meadow. The traps were deployed during 11 surveys planned on the basis of the weather conditions and seagrass growth phase. The trap content was analysed for the amount of mass trapped and particle grain size, useful for describing sedimentary processes during storms. The meteorological data, P. oceanica leaf biometry, and sand patch evolution during the year were analysed to determine their relation to the vertical sedimentation flux. The resuspension process dominated the shallow-water dynamics, but P. oceanica buffers the resuspension, especially during calm sea conditions. The sedimentological tracers showed that when high energy-flow regimes were present, the vegetation near the bottom enhanced the deposition of particles transported from adjacent unvegetated areas. During late summer, leaf litter deposited on the unvegetated seafloor buffered the seabed sediment particles, preventing resuspension. We also detected the active transport of material from the sand patch to the meadow that was dependent on the energy flow regime, showing that the vegetation plays two roles: preventing resuspension and promoting deposition.

Isotopic evidence of diet variation at the transition between classical and post-classical times in Central Italy

This work examines the carbon and nitrogen composition of human and animal collagen from the Roman necropolis of Lucus Feroniae (Rome, 1st–3rd century AD) and the Longobard cemetery of La Selvicciola in northern Latium (Viterbo, 7th century AD), with a special focus on possible dietary variations at the transition between classical and post-classical times. A substantial isotopic difference between the two series reveals distinct dietary practices at the two sites, especially the consumption of cereals and contribution of other foodstuffs to a mainly grain-based diet. We argue that such differences are explained through the social and cultural background of the two populations examined, where the isotopic variance of the Roman data is in line with that of a group of heterogeneous origin and varied dietary practices, while the tight clustering of isotopic signatures for the Longobard people reflects the foodways of a homogeneous group. Intra-site variation shows no significant difference according to the sex of the deceased. Outlying individuals might be explained through cultural practices that call for further insight. Isotopic data have shown to successfully reflect social and cultural phenomena of human groups in a changing world, in a way that other archaeological proxies have sometimes failed to achieve.

Sediment dynamics and resuspension processes in a shallow-water Posidonia oceanica meadow

In the study, we describe the sedimentary dynamics in a shallow-water seagrass meadow. We examined the dynamics of vertical sedimentation flux over a Posidonia oceanica meadow during the course of a one-year investigation. Total sedimentary flux was monitored off the northern Latium coast (Italy) in the central Tyrrhenian Sea using sediment traps from October 2015 to December 2016 at three stations established on bare sand, in the P. oceanica meadow, and on a sand patch within the meadow. The traps were deployed during 11 surveys planned on the basis of the weather conditions and seagrass growth phase. The trap content was analysed for the amount of mass trapped and particle grain size, useful for describing sedimentary processes during storms. The meteorological data, P. oceanica leaf biometry, and sand patch evolution during the year were analysed to determine their relation to the vertical sedimentation flux. The resuspension process dominated the shallow-water dynamics, but P. oceanica buffers the resuspension, especially during calm sea conditions. The sedimentological tracers showed that when high energy-flow regimes were present, the vegetation near the bottom enhanced the deposition of particles transported from adjacent unvegetated areas. During late summer, leaf litter deposited on the unvegetated seafloor buffered the seabed sediment particles, preventing resuspension. We also detected the active transport of material from the sand patch to the meadow that was dependent on the energy flow regime, showing that the vegetation plays two roles: preventing resuspension and promoting deposition.

Structural and chemical variations in phlogopite from lamproitic rocks of the Central Mediterranean region

Micas from mafic ultrapotassic rocks with lamproitic affinity from several localities of the Central Mediterranean region were studied through single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS); Mössbauer Spectroscopy (MöS), when feasible, was also applied to minimise the number of unknown variables and uncertainties. Analysed lamproitic samples cover the most important Central Mediterranean type localities, from Plan d'Albard (Western Alps) to Sisco (Corsica), Montecatini Val di Cecina and Orciatico (Tuscany, Italy) and Torre Alfina (Northern Latium, Italy). The studied crystals show distinctive chemical and structural features; all of them belong to the phlogopite-annite join and crystallise in the 1M polytype, except for micas from Torre Alfina, where both 1M and 2M1 polytypes were found. Studied micas have variable but generally high F and Ti contents, with Mg/(Mg+Fe) ranging from ~0.5 to ~0.9; 2M1 crystals from Torre Alfina radically differ in chemical composition, showing high contents of Ti and Fe as well as of Al in both tetrahedra and octahedra, leading to distinctive structural distortions, especially in tetrahedral sites.SIMS data indicate that studied micas are generally dehydrogenated with OH contents ranging from ~0.2 apfu (atoms per formula unit) for Orciatico and Torre Alfina to ~1.4 for Plan d'Albard crystals; this feature is also testified by the length of the c parameter, which decreases with the loss of hydrogen and/or the increase of the F→OH substitution. Chemical and structural data suggest that the entry of high charge octahedral cations is mainly balanced by an oxy mechanism and, to a lesser extent, by a M3+,4+-Tschermak substitution. Our data confirm that Ti preferentially partitions into the M2 site and that different Ti and F contents, as well as different K/Al values, are both dependant upon fH2O and the composition of magma rather than controlled by P and T crystallisation conditions.The obtained data help to discriminate among lamproite-like rocks formed within a complex geodynamic framework but still related to a destructive tectonic margin and evidence different trends for micas from the youngest Torre Alfina (Northern Latium) lamproites, referred to the Apennine orogeny and those of the older lamproites from Orciatico, Montecatini Val di Cecina (Tuscany), Western Alps, and Corsica, the latter referred to the Alpine orogeny. Phlogopite crystals from the older lamproites fall within the compositional and structural field of worldwide phlogopites from both within-plate and subduction-related settings. Phlogopite from the Plio-Pleistocene lamproite-like occurrence in Tuscany and Northern Latium, despite crystals with low Mg# of the Torre Alfina rock plot well within the general field of the other crystals in less evolved samples, follows a different evolution trend similar to that of shoshonites from Tuscany and Northern Latium. On this basis, we argue that the observed differences are inherited by slight differences in the magma compositions that are related to different genetic and evolution pathways.

Coastal and marine tourism: the employment system in Northern Latium at the time of the economic crisis

Coastal and marine tourism: the employment system in Northern Latium at the time of the economic crisis