Geosites of the Park

The territory of the Lucanian Apennines Val d'Agri Lagonegrese National Park preserves a geological heritage of extraordinary value, where the shapes of the landscape become a veritable open-air narrative of the processes that shaped the Apennine mountain range.

Among the most striking geosites are the folds of Monte Volturino and Costa Roberto: imposing undulations of rock strata, created by the ancient tectonic compression that deformed the Campania-Lucanian Apennines. Here, anticlines and synclines, inverted folds and even outcrops of ancient rocks dating back to the Lower Triassic are clearly visible, offering an extraordinary sight for experts and enthusiasts alike.

Also of great interest is the tectonic-karst basin of Laura, on Monte di Viggiano, considered a classic example of a polje: a vast flat depression, closed and without surface outlets, shaped by the combined action of faults and karst dissolution. The bottom, covered with red earth and debris, absorbs the water that disappears into underground sinkholes, feeding the powerful Peschiera Spring. In the wet season, the basin comes alive with temporary springs and curious “sand volcanoes”, while the natural edge offers one of the most evocative views of the upper Val d'Agri. The name “Laura” itself refers to a past of spirituality and contemplation, linked to the presence of Byzantine monks.

The Montagna di Viggiano is another geomorphological feature: a sharp ridge that dominates the valley and emerges as a veritable “island” of limestone from the Campania-Lucania platform, rare in this context. Here, geology meets palaeontology, thanks to the abundance of macrofossils, in particular rudists, ancient molluscs that populated the tropical seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, now imprinted in the rock as witnesses to a vanished ocean.

This journey through time ends with the curious scenery of the prismatic faces of Contrada Ragaturo, on the slope of the Serra di Calvello: surfaces sculpted by water erosion, which create surprising geometric shapes, similar to fault escarpments.

This is further proof of how, in the Park, nature knows how to transform geology into a spectacle.