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Fontespilli quarry, Bagnolo, Santa Fiora, Grosseto Province, Tuscany, Italyi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Fontespilli quarry | Group of Quarries (Built Over) |
| Bagnolo | Village |
| Santa Fiora | Commune |
| Grosseto Province | Province |
| Tuscany | Region |
| Italy | Country |
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Type:
Group of Quarries (Built Over) - last checked 2025
Deposit first discovered:
1913 (approx.)
Age:
0.14 to 0.13 Ma
Geologic Time:
Dating method:
Th230/U238
Reference for age:
Rinaldi Fornaca, G. (1968) Età Th230/U238 delle Farine Fossili del Monte Amiata. Atti della Società Toscana gi Scienze Naturali, Memorie, Serie A, 75 (2). 654-661
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Fonte Spilli; Pian al Camposanto
A historic quarry, completely repurposed, overgrown and built-over due to urban development, important for the extraction of diatomite, locally known as "farina fossile" ("kieselguhr" in German) or, popularly, "latte di luna" ("moon milk" in English).
The production of diatomite, along with colouring earths and tannin, contributed significantly to the economic development of the Monte Amiata area between the 19th and 20th centuries. The deposit mined by the quarries Fontespilli (properly named), located south of the road, Pian al Camposanto, north of the road, and other minor further east, was exhausted in 1970. The last industrial activities in the sector closed in 1978.
The location is listed only for historical records, as it is currently impossible to find and collect geological or mineralogical samples without occasional excavations. Geomineralogical samples, often containing fossils, from this or other quarries in the area, commonly referred to as "Monte Amiata" provenance, are preserved and often displayed in Tuscan and national natural history collections.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramList of minerals for each chemical element
Geochronology
Mineralization age: Pleistocene : 0.14 Ma to 0.13 MaImportant note: This table is based only on rock and mineral ages recorded on mindat.org for this locality and is not necessarily a complete representation of the geochronology, but does give an indication of possible mineralization events relevant to this locality. As more age information is added this table may expand in the future. A break in the table simply indicates a lack of data entered here, not necessarily a break in the geologic sequence. Grey background entries are from different, related, localities.
| Geologic Time | Rocks, Minerals and Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phanerozoic | |||||||
| Cenozoic | |||||||
| Quaternary | |||||||
| Pleistocene |
| ||||||
Fossils
This region is too big or complex to display the fossil list, try looking at smaller subregions.This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
References
Vezzoli, Luigina; Principe, Claudia; Sorbini, Chiara (2021) The paleo-lacustrine diatomaceous deposits of Monte Amiata volcano (Tuscany, Italy) and the Ezio Tongiorgi paleontological collection in the Museum of Natural History of the University of Pisa. Annals of Geophysics, 64 (5). doi:10.4401/ag-8634An in-depth study of the Fontespilli quarry with details on the fossil finds.
