Central-Southern Italy and the Tyrrhenian Sea are the sites of extensive Plio-Quaternary magmatic activity. The rock compositions include crustal anatectic granites and rhyolites, tholeiitic, calc-alkaline, shoshonitic volcanics, and potassic to ultrapotassic and Na-alkaline volcanics. This very wide compositional variation makes Italian magmatism one of the most complex petrological issues, the understanding of which is a challenge for modern petrology and geochemistry. This book summarises the petrological, geochemical and volcanological characteristics of Italian Plio-Quaternary volcanism, and discusses petrogenetic hypotheses and possible geodynamics settings. The book is written for petrologists and geochemists, but fundamental geochemical information is well presented and the use of excessive jargon is avoided, making the book readable to a wide audience of Earth scientists.

Contenu
Plio-Quaternary Magmatism in Italy: An Introductory Overview.- The Tuscany Province.- The Intra-Apennine Province.- The Roman Province.- The Ernici-Roccamonfina Province.- The Campania Province, Pontine Islands, and Mount Vulture.- The Aeolian arc.- The Sicily Province.- Sardinia and the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea.- Petrogenesis and Geodynamics in Italy.