Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has beendescribed in detail since the early 20th century. Gypsum caves are now known from almostall Italian regions, but are mainly localised along the northern border of the Apennine chain(Emilia Romagna and Marche), Calabria, and Sicily, where the major outcrops occur.Recently, important caves have also been discovered in the underground gypsum mines inPiedmont. During the late 80s and 90s several multidisciplinary studies were carried out inmany gypsum areas, resulting in a comprehensive overview, promoting further research inthese special karst regions. More recent and detailed studies focused on the gypsum areas ofEmilia-Romagna and Sicily. Sinkholes related to Permian-Triassic gypsum have been studiedin Friuli Venezia Giulia. This article reviews the state of the art regarding different aspects ofevaporite karst in Italy focusing on the main new results.