The Latemar carbonate platform in the Dolomites has been included in the list of the second 100 geological heritage sites officially presented by the International Union of Geological Sciences at the 37th International Geological Congress, held in Busan (South Korea).

The announcement of the second 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites consolidates the global initiative that began with the announcement of the ‘first 100’ during the IUGS 60th anniversary event in 2022 in Zumaia (Basque Coast).

The main objective of this IUGS-led collaborative programme is to give maximum recognition to those sites that are essential to the geological sciences.

The Latemar is an ancient Middle Triassic carbonate platform, probably with the best-exposed facies transitions and depositional geometries in the world.

Nereo Preto, Associate Professor at the Department of Geosciences of the University of Padua, was among the promoters of this important geosite, which, together with five others (including the volcano Vesuvius and Pliocene cyclostratygraphy of Scala dei Turchi), brings to six the total number of Italian sites selected for this second list presented by the IUGS.

The ‘Second 100’ and ‘First 100’ are illustrated and described in a book that can be freely downloaded from the International Union of Geological Sciences website.