Paleontological discoveries and industrial exploitation: the case of the oil shales and the fossils of Besano in the Nineteenth century
Journal title STORIA IN LOMBARDIA
Author/s Libera Paola Arena
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/1
Language Italian Pages 43 P. 5-47 File size 583 KB
DOI 10.3280/SIL2022-001001
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The territory of Besano (Varese) attracted the attention of many geologists since the first decades of the Nineteenth century for mineralogical, stratigraphical and paleontological point of view. This story goes back to the early Nineteenth century, when Giulio Curioni picked up some oil shales that attracted the interest of industrials for their economical value and geologists for the fossils contained therein. The first two paleontological excavations (1863, 1878) in Besano, show the great interest of the scientific community of the second half of the Nineteenth century for these oil shales. On those occasions many new fossil plants and animals species were discovered allowing scientists to better understand the stra- tigraphical shape and the age of these soils and to propose hypothesis about the life and the environment in this area millions of years ago.
Keywords: history of geology, palaeontological excavations, fossils, oil shale, industrial ex- ploitation, Besano, Lombardy.
Libera Paola Arena, Scoperte paleontologiche e sfruttamento industriale: il caso degli scisti bituminosi e dei fossili di Besano nell’Ottocento in "STORIA IN LOMBARDIA" 1/2022, pp 5-47, DOI: 10.3280/SIL2022-001001