Geological map at 1:1,000,000 scale

The Geological Survey of Italy/Soil Defense Department of ISPRA, as the cartographic body of the State recognized pursuant to Law 68/1960, through the activity of geologists, cartographers and computer scientists present in its staff, has been carrying out the own geological survey activity aimed at creating the official geological cartography of the country. In addition to detailed geological cartography, the Geological Service also includes among its official cartographic products the Geological Map of Italy at 1:1,000,000 scale, a map of great scientific value which represents the synthesis of the country's modern geological knowledge.

In 1881, on the occasion of the 2nd International Congress of Geology in Bologna, the first edition of the Geological Map of Italy on a 1:1,000,000 scale was printed; in 2011, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, the fifth edition of the Charter was created, with the aim of associating the intrinsic scientific value with a historical-cultural value.
The Map represents the reasoned synthesis of the geological cartography of the Italian territory published in recent years and, above all, of that made available by the National Geological Cartography Project at the 1:50,000 scale (CARG Project). The legend has been structured so as to represent all the data considered essential for the stratigraphic characterization of the rocks and for the reconstruction of the depositional environments as well as to highlight the main geodynamic events linked to the various phases of the Hercynian and Alpine orogenies; all without losing sight of the readability of the map and the easy identification of the major structural units. The compilation of the map entailed the need to make interpretative choices in bringing together the different geological formations and in their placement in the different paleo-environments and/or orogenic cycles. In consideration of the fact that the data available to date from the CARG Project, in addition to representing the official cartography, are the most recent and innovative ones of Italian geology, it was decided in most cases, and where possible, to stick to them; in some cases, data obtained from the most recent literature were used which best suited the generally shared regional framework.
For the neighboring territories, the data were obtained from the summary maps of the individual countries, adapting them to the legend of the Map. To make reading the Map easier, a diagram of the main tectonostratigraphic units has been included where the major structural domains are represented in relation to the orogenies, the vergence of the orogenic system and the type of crust of the original paleogeographic domain.