Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna since 1983 her researches are mainly focused on the Palaeozoic stratigraphy with special regard to the Devonian and the Carboniferous sequences of the Carnic Alps and Sardinia (Italy), as well as other European and extra-European areas.
She graduated with full marks and honors in Geology at the Bologna University in July 1978.
Retired in 2019, since 2020 she received the title of Alma Mater Professor.
Teaching experience
1978-1987 – Laboratory of Cartography, Laboratory of Lithology, and Laboratory of Stratigraphy for the courses of Geography, Geology for Engineering, Topography, and Stratigraphy.
1988-1993 – Seminar lessons of Historical Geology for the course of Stratigraphy.
1994-2002 – Seminar lessons of Historical Geology for the course of Geology I.
1997– Course of Stratigraphy as substitute of the regular professor.
2004 – Seminar lessons on application of conodonts in geology (biostratography, CAI), and Devonian palaeogeography for the course of Palaeontology II.
2006-2018 – Seminar lessons on History of the Earth for the course of Geology for students in Natural Sciences.
2008-2019 – Laboratory of Lithology for the course of Geography and Geology.
2016 – Course of Historical Geology
Since 1979 she collaborates in supervision of graduated students in Geology and Natural Sciences, and since 1983 is supervisor of graduated students in Geology and Natural Sciences.
Other informations
Since 1978 she has been involved in research activity on the Palaeozoic of the Carnic Alps.
In 1978 she became member of the Pander Society.
In 1979 she received the Andreatta Award as the best graduate of the year 1978 in Geology at the Bologna University. During the same year she contributed to the editing of the Volume 20 of the Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana devoted to the papers presented in Siena at the Meeting of the Italian Geological Society on the Italian Palaeozoic and Basement.
From 1979 to 1985 she was member of the Italian Geological Society.
Since 1981 she is member of the Italian Palaeontological Society.
In 1982 she participated to the organization of the Congress for the Centennial Anniversary Celebration of the Italian Geological Society held in Bologna, and led part of the field trip on the Southern Alps.
In 1983 she was one of the members of the Scientific Committee of the exhibition on the Palaeozoic of the Carnic Alps organized by the Museum of Natural History of Udine; on the opening session of the exhibition she gave a lecture on conodonts.
During 1985 she spent six months at the Department of Geology of the University of Iowa (Iowa City, USA) being awarded a NATO post-doctoral fellowship.
Since 1992 she is member of the International Palaeontological Association.
In 1998 she was a member of the Organizing Committee of the Seventh International Conodont Symposium held in Europe (ECOS VII), one of the leaders of the post-symposium field excursion on the Southern Alps, and co-editor of the Southern Alps Field Trip Guidebook.
In 1999 she was elected as “Corresponding Member” of the SDS (Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy), and since 2016 she is Titular Member.
From 2010 to 2016 she helped the former Pander Chief Prof. Maria Cristina Perri (University of Bologna) in the editing of the Pander Society Newsletter.
In 2014 she organized, together with Carlo Corradini (University of Cagliari), the Pander Society Workshop held in Bologna from February 27 to March 1, 2014.
Main research themes
1. Lithostratigraphy, palaeotectonic and palaeogeography of the Palaeozoic of the Carnic Alps.
2. Devonian-Carboniferous conodont biostratigraphy, with special regard to the Frasnian-Famennian boundary (Late Devonian) and Devonianan-Carboniferous boundary, mainly in the Carnic Alps. Together with the biostratigraphic analysis, taxonomic, biofacies studies are also carried out together with lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and isotope analysis of the studied sections.
3.Late Devonian-early Carboniferous biostratigraphy and taxonomy of conodonts from the Carnic Alps, Sardinia, and Montagne Noire (France).
4. Event stratigraphy of Frasnian and Famennian stratigraphic sections of the Carnic Alps.
5. Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary.
Other research themes
1. Conodont biofacies analysis of Upper Devonian-lower Carboniferous sequences of the Carnic Alps.
2. Study of the thermal evolution of the Palaeozoic-Triassic sequence of the Carnic Alps by comparison of conodont Color Alteration Index (CAI) from carbonatic rocks, and b cell dimension and Kübler Index (illite “crystallinity”) of K-white micas, Árkai Index (AI) of chlorites, clay mineral assemblages in pelitic rocks.
3. Tentative of correlation between Early-Middle Devonian conodont and foraminifers biostratigraphy from the Carnic Alps.
4. Study of integrated conodont and vertebrate microremains biostratigraphy from the Carnic Alps, Sardina, and Morocco, with analysis of palaeogeographic implication for Perigondwanian areas.
5. Biostratigraphic and biofacies alalysis, and taxonomy of Late Devonian-early Carboniferous conodonts from Sardinia.
6. Studies on the stratigraphic relationship between the Hercynian “Flysch” (early-late Carboniferous p.p.) and the underlying carbonatic Late Devonian-early Carboniferous sequence from Sardinia, and possible correlation with coeval and similar sequence from the Carnic Alps.
7. Conodont biostratigraphy of the late Famennian (Late Devonian) in Morocco.
She published 101 scientific papers and 39 abstracts. She collaborated in writing several educational books, to the compilation of geologic maps, and to editing of books, mainly guidebooks.
Project member
- Working Group on Palaezoic sequences of Italy
- IGCP Project N° 5 "Correlation of Prevariscan and Variscan events in the Alpine-Mediterranean Mountain Belt"
- IGCP Project N° 53 “Ecostratigraphy”
- Working Group Paleopelagos
- IGCP Project N° 421 “North Gondwana mid-Palaeozoic bioevent/biogeography in relation to crustal dynamics”
- Project CARG (Geological Survey of Italy, Geological Mapping of Italy at scale 1:50,000)
- IGCP Project N° 499 “Devonian land-sea interaction: evolution of ecosystems and climate”
- IGCP Project N° 596 “Climate change and biodiversity patterns in the Mid-Palaeozoic”
- IGCP Project N° 652 “Reading geologic time in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks: the need for an integrated stratigraphy”
- Working Group on “Formal Lithostratigraphic Units in the Pre-Variscan sequence of the Carnic Alps”, responsible for the Devonian pelagic limestone units
- SDS Working Group on the Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary
