The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea by an offshore reef. Diverse marine life flourished within this lagoon, including reptiles, fish, bivalves, ammonites, echinoderms and crustaceans. Because the lagoon was near land, the remains also include land-based fossils of reptiles, insects and plants, resulting in an extremely rich source of fossils.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Monte San Giorgio
The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated fro
Collections featuring Monte San Giorgio
More UNESCO sites in Italy
- 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex
- Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale
- Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
- Archaeological Area of Agrigento
- Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
- Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites
- Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
- Castel del Monte