A PORTRAIT OF CENTRAL ITALY’S GEOLOGY THROUGH GIOTTO’S PAINTINGS 1 AND ITS POSSIBLE CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS 2

. Central Italy has some of the most complex geology in the world. In the midst 10 of this inscrutable territory, two people emerged--St. Francis and Giotto--they would 11 ultimately change the history of ecology, religion and art by extoling the landscapes and 12 geology of this region. 13

sacred images away from Heaven and placing them in an earthly landscape, he 23 separated them definitively from their abstract, unapproachable representation in 24 Byzantine art. Giotto's works are distinctive because they portray daily life as blessed, 25 thus demonstrating that the difference between the sacred and profane is minimal.  In the Middle Ages, the practice of linking natural phenomena to divine or satanic forces 70 was the norm (Artz,2014). Since nature's behavior could not be predicted or controlled,  (Cadden,1995). It was thought that by deciphering and diffusing malefic symbols one 77 could avoid disaster or, in the case of auspicious portents, obtain a fortuitous outcome. 78 The search for meaning in nature was much more important than the search for "how 79 nature works" as mechanisms were not valued (Chenu,1983). After all, God was in charge 80 of everything and what he was doing "behind the scenes" didn't matter. As a result, men 81 tried to become more empathetic and more closely aligned to nature to understand God. In the early 1200's, a young man from Assisi named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, 86 but known to us as Francis, gained a following for his revolutionary ideas pertaining to a 87 sympathetic view of nature. Francis lived in Umbria, a region of Italy which is green, fertile 88 and infused with a palpable spirituality. He was born into a well-to-do family of cloth 89 merchants. As a young man, he renounced his own material wealth, even taking the 90 position that the Church do the same. He walked to towns and villages, espousing a 91 simple way of life and encouraging a reverential attitude toward the natural world, for he 92 3 believed that nature was the mirror of God. He called all creatures his "brothers and 93 sisters" and preached that people had a duty to protect and enjoy nature as the stewards 94 of God's creation (French,1996). He constructed a series of monasteries (Fusarelli,1999) 95 which were situated in forests or snuggled up against the sides of mountains (Fig. 1). His 96 own cell and bed were carved out of rock. Francis was also a poet and an outstanding 97 innovator in the history of Italian literature. In his Canticle of the Sun, believed to be the 98 first work written in the Italian language, he praised God for creating "Brother Sun" and 99 "Sister Moon".

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Soon he attracted a group of followers which were organized into many religious orders 102 for both men and women. He became so influential that the Pope had to acknowledge    and meeting place in the history of Western art (Moleta,1983).

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Giotto's works were so revolutionary that today he is considered the founder of 123 Renaissance art (Moleta,1983 profane acquires a grand dignity and seriousness, which became Giotto's distinctive 137 characteristic.

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Additionally, both Duccio, (a contemporary of Giotto's), and Giotto were among the first 140 to add a depth perspective to their paintings this was revolutionary, as the rules of 141 perspective had been lost in the Dark Ages (Blatt,1984). Duccio used modeling (playing 142 with light and dark colors) to reveal the physique beneath the clothing's heavy drapery.  only feel a kinship with the work, but also a sense of conviction that the work was real.

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The authenticity of the landscape contributed to disseminating the gospel by convincing 165 the viewer that the sacred message contained therein was valid, be it Christ's birth or 166 crucifixion or an episode in the life of a saint. And so, the depiction of these sacred scenes 167 acted as a catalyst for changes in Western piety as well as Western art (Moleta,1983).    belts" which slice out of the deep crust (Alvarez, 2008).

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In the Apennines, as the migrating compressional front moves northeastward (the 202 anticlines get younger from Gubbio to the Adriatic Sea), there is an extensional front 203 following behind (about 100 km to the rear). When the extensional front arrives, the fold 204 is cut apart by normal faults and subsides as the underlying strata is stretched thin. The 205 most likely explanation for this dynamic is that the lower part of the continental crust peels 206 off and sinks. This hypothetical process is called "delamination" (Alvarez, 2008).  The Scaglia Rossa is a pelagic sedimentary rock composed of 1-20% foraminifera and 212 5% clay in a coccolith matrix, deposited from the late Cretaceous to middle Eocene. Its 213 color ranges from brick red to pink and also grey, yellow and mixed white and pink. The     The monastery at La Verna sits on Mt. Penna (Fig.6,17), a Miocene calarenite. It is highly

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In describing the Nativity, we are told that Mary and Joseph embarked on a journey, the 305 night was cold and starry, there was no room in an inn nor help with the birth. The lowly 306 manger was filled with hay and animals were settling in for the night. Here, we see that 307 Giotto continues the theme of Jesus' birth in a limestone landscape (Fig.12). The upthrust  In the story of Creation, the contrast between darkness and light was used as a metaphor.  Another revolution in the portrayal of the Nativity was the change, in the 14 th century, from 324 the use of a cavern, to a "inn" (kataluma) as described in the Gospel of Luke. From that, 325 the location was often a "diversorium" which might be an inn, a cabin (capanna), or a hut  In this fresco, we pass from a desert, an isolated locale, to an urban setting (Fig.13). The 331 abandonment of the desert and the grotto has a precise theological justification. By 332 placing Jesus' birth in a city, not in the wilderness, the mystery of his divine nature would 333 not be hidden from the people. He is portrayed as being born in a town, near a market, 334 in an open, populated place where his nature can be seen by all.

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The baby is often placed in the foreground on the earth, underlining his human character, 336 propped on a bale of hay--an illusion to the eucharistic bread, or on a sheet--evocative 337 of the shroud. In this manner, if the faithful looked down, they would have understood 338 the humility of the divine birth. From an etymological standpoint, the word "humble" can 339 be taken to mean "attached/close to the ground" (in Latin, humus). 340

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In Byzantine art, the background was usually gold, a glorious, expensive color which 342 invoked a sense of awe of the Divine and, as a result, kept the viewer at a reverential 343 distance (Dall'Asta, 2012). As a color, it was flat which did not draw the viewer into the 344 scene. Giotto's treatment of this event (Fig.14) is very interesting because of his use of a  The tree is swaying in the wind, the birds are flying and walking and the friar behind St.

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Francis is in a different plane, giving the whole picture a sense of depth and dynamism.

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The warm colors invoke an autumn day with an orange-gold sun illuminating the   Joachim went to the temple to make a sacrifice, which was rejected, and he was then 393 expelled by the rabbis. He went into exile in the mountains leaving behind his wife, Ann. bringing word to Joachim that Ann is with child and she will be blessed. Joachim's world 414 will change with this message and our world will be changed as well. In this image of solitary mystical experience (Fig. 18), Giotto portrays Francis on a block 428 of limestone which has been weathered and uplifted as seen by its nearly vertical relief.  In this scene, Francis demonstrates his commitment to refuting worldly goods by giving 454 his mantle to a poor man (Fig.19). He has abandoned his fine clothing and is now dressed continuous seismic activity in the region since Roman times (Guidoboni & Ferrari, 2000). 473 The gorges and crevices still visible in many areas today are for the most part unnamed 474 and are best seen untouched in the many national parks, but one, the Bottaccione Gorge "…not to behave like dissident predators where nature is concerned, but to assume 531 responsibility for it, taking all care so that everything stays healthy and integrated, so as 532 to offer a welcoming and friendly environment even to those who succeed us." we are at peace with God we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace 537 with all creation which is inseparable from peace among all peoples." 538 "It is my hope that the inspiration of Saint Francis will help us to keep ever alive a sense 539 of 'fraternity' with all those good and beautiful things which Almighty God has created." Anticline-In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and 561 has its oldest beds at its core.

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Calcarenite-A type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, 563 of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), carbonate grains. The 564 grains consist of sand-size grains of either corals, shells, pellets, fragments of 565 older limestones and dolomites, other carbonate grains, or some combination of these.

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Calcarenite is the carbonate equivalent of a sandstone.

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Coccoliths-Are individual plates of calcium carbonate formed by coccolithophores 569 (single-celled algae such as Emiliania huxleyi) which are arranged around them in 570 a coccosphere.

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Conglomerate-Is a coarse-grained clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of a 573 substantial fraction of rounded to subangular gravel-sized clasts, e.g., granules, pebbles, 574 cobbles and boulders, larger than 2 mm. in diameter.

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Fault-Is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has 577 been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement.

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Fault blocks-Are very large blocks of rock, sometimes hundreds of kilometers in extent, 580 created by tectonic and localized stresses in the Earth's crust.

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Foraminifera-Informally called "forams", are members of a phylum or class of amoeboid 583 protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; 584 and commonly an external shell (called a "test") of diverse forms and materials.

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Marl or marlstone-Is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains 587 variable amounts of clays and silt. The dominant carbonate mineral in most marls 588 is calcite, but other carbonate minerals such as aragonite, dolomite, and siderite may be 589 present.

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Turbidite-Is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of sediment gravity 592 flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean.

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Orogeny-Is the primary mechanism by which mountains are built on continents.

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Scree-Is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, 597 volcanoes or valley shoulders that has accumulated through periodic rockfall from 598 adjacent cliff faces.

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Tectonics-Is the process that controls the structure and properties of the Earth's crust 601 and its evolution through time. In particular, it describes the processes of mountain 602 building.

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Thrust fault-Is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above 605 younger rocks.

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Travertine-Is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs.