Protection and promotion of the palaeontological heritage: the virtuous case of Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Italy)

The site of Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Calabria, southern Italy) is here presented as a virtuous example of cooperation among researchers, palaeontology amateurs, and local administrations, under the supervision of the competent Superintendence of Archeological Heritage. The collaboration allowed the recovering, preservation, study, analysis and musealization of a huge palaeontological heritage, located in a popular touristic area. The site of Cessaniti and the surrounding area released an impressive abundance of fossil echinoids and other invertebrate, associated with marine and terrestrial mammals, late Miocene in age. In the last decade, the record of mammals with African and Pikermian affinities strongly contributed to enhance the knowledge of the paleogeographic evolution of the central Mediterranean at the end of Miocene.