The Geomorphosites in Lombardy

Lombardy is a region of Northern Italy with a territory whose structure includes, from the physical-geographical point of view, a very important portion of the Alps and the adjacent Po plain with a little part of the Northern Apennines. This situation is due to the complexity of the landscape with its great diversity of historical and human aspects, frequently studied and described, but also the same physical elements which are, owing to their interest, worthy of conservation as part of the cultural heritage. As in many other Italian regions and provinces, also in Lombardy the exigence of describing and making available sites and peculiarities of the landscape arose, together with the suggestion of specific naturalistic tours, by means of relative guidebooks, monographs and so on. The Authors of the present work (as a part of the national research programme on ‘Geosites and Italian Landscape’) made a census of geomorphosites in Lombardy in order to their improvement, conservation and availability, both on the tourist and the scientific level. From the operating point of view, because of the high heterogeneity of the Lombard physical landscapes, it has been necessary to differentiate three main areas: Alps, Po plain and Apennines. Then, owing to its didactic exemplariness, its rarity and its paleogeographic or evolutive evidence, the geomorphological sites having a specific value have been identified and described, and also typologically assembled. Till now more than 150 sites have been registered. Some of them are single geomorphosites and others correspond with their areal but significant distribution. Someone of them are moreover well known as tourist sites, but many others, instead, have not had such consideration, yet.