EXPLORING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE APPALACHIAN BASIN, THE SOUTHERN APENNINE FOREDEEP DEPOSITS, AND THE HISTORIC ROOTS OF THE DIECCHIO FAMILY NAME

This presentation focuses on the connections between the stratigraphy and tectonic history of the central Appalachian basin and the southern Apennines of Italy in the region of Basilicata where the Diecchio family name derives. Known initially as Lucania, the region of Basilicata straddles the central-southern portion of the Italian peninsula touching the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas and rising to 2,000 meters of elevation along the rugged spine of the Apennine Chain. In the southern sector of this region, a 1,000-meter-thick package of course-grained clastic strata form a distinct N-S trending mountainous ridge composed of the flysch deposits of the Miocene Gorgoglione Formation (GF). The GF and adjacent minor clastic units are part of a larger stratigraphic package whose distribution, depositional geometry, and stratigraphic architecture offer world-class opportunities to observe clear field relationships linking deep water depositional systems to tectonic processes. The geologic setting of this region offers an interesting analog to compare to similarly interpreted syn-tectonic turbidites the Paleozoic Appalachian foreland basin, such as the Ordovician Martinsburg Formation.

In the spring of 2014, Professor Rick Diecchio and geologist Alan Pitts traveled to the southern Apennines to the mountain village of Stigliano in search of the roots of the Diecchio family and birthplace of Rocco DiCicco. Their efforts resulted in great success with a little bit of luck and a lot help from Sebastiano Enzo Villani, a kind stranger turned friend for life. This trip also included visiting the Gorgoglione Formation and a survey of the larger regional geology of the Apennine chain foredeep system while considering the relationships to stages of the Appalachian basin during the Paleozoic. This talk revisits the narrative of that serendipitous expedition thanking the friends along the way, highlights some overlaps between Apennine and Appalachian geology, and discusses the geologic provenance history of Rick Diecchio.