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World
Heritage Sites
NAME Monte San Giorgio IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY Monte San Giorgio V (Protected Landscape) Natural World Heritage Site: Natural criteria i BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE Central European Highlands (2.32.12) GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Located in southernmost Switzerland, between the two southern arms of Lake Lugano in the canton of Ticino, at 45°55'N and 8°57'E. DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT The site has been subject to a number of local and regional protective measures. In summary:
AREA The core World Heritage site is 849 ha. A buffer zone of 1,389 ha surrounds the property except along the Italian border. LAND TENURE The Swiss Federation, Canton of Ticino. The core and buffer areas of the property lie within the communes of Meride, Riva San Vitale and Brusino-Arziso. Some farmland and houses in the first two of these areas are privately owned. The buffer area is also in the communes of Arzo, Tremona, Bizasio, Rancate, Ligornetto and Stabio. ALTITUDE Ranges from 271m (lake level) to 1096.7m above sea level. PHYSICAL FEATURES This largely forested low mountain rises 826 metres directly from Lake Lugano and valleys either side. It is pyramidal, with steeper north slopes to the lake and a gentle south slope, which dips at the angle of its geological formations towards the Po valley. These are fossiliferous Triassic carbonate formations that are mostly located within the protected area, outcropping between both older volcanic and more recent sedimentary formations of the Southern Alpine Series in the buffer zone. Permian andesites and rhyolites of volcanic origin are exposed on the north face, with Jurassic limestone formations occuring on the lower southern slopes that dip on the edge of the mountain, under the sediments of the Po valley. Limestones occur in beds more than 1000m thick and comprise a 15 million year record of submarine tectonic activity and marine sedimentation under varying conditions and the different environments of successive transgressions and recessions. The beds include conglomerate and sandstone (Bellano formation), reef limestone, dolomites and bituminous shales (Besano formation - the main fossil-bearing horizons), marls, limestones and gypsum (Pizzella marls), marine dolomites (Principale Dolomiti) and dolomitised oolitic limestone (Tremona beds). Within these karstic formations there are some thirty caves. The oldest of the overlying Jurassic sediments at the southern base of the mountain yield ornamental brecchia. Within the Besano formation, at least five distinct regularly superimposed fossil beds containing exceptionally rich, rare, well preserved fossils of the Middle Triassic period (245-230 million years ago), are found These are named, from older to younger: Grenzbitumenzone, Cava Inferiore, Cava Superiore (both quarried beds), Cassino beds and Kalkscheiferzone beds of Meride Limestone. These have yielded more than 10,000 fossil remains: 30 species of marine and terrestrial reptiles, 80 different species of fish, hundreds of invertebrate species, ammonites, echinoderms, crustaceans, bivalves, cephalopods, insects, and terrestrial plants. Intercalated layers of ash provide a built-in time scale. CLIMATE The climate is sub-Mediterranean with hot but rainy summers, and mild winters with few frosts. There is some air pollution in the Lugano valley. VEGETATION The flora of the site is of southern Alpine type with acid-loving plants on the volcanic rhyolitic north slope soils and lime-loving plants on the dolomitic and limestone dominated southern slopes. The acidic soils support sweet chestnut Castanea sativa, sessile oak Quercus petraea, and ash Fraxinus excelsior. The damp lime-rich soils support mixed broadleaf woodland of Carpinus betulifolia and the sub-Mediterranean species hop-hornbeam Ostrya carpinifolia, with, on dry shallow soils, pubescent oak Q. pubescens and manna ash F. ornus; withTilia spp. on dry to damp soils. Twenty-five hectares of dry meadows of high botanic diversity occur on the limestone of the mountain top, dominated by dwarf sedge Carex humilis and tall moorgrass Mollinia arundinacea. Of over 100 species of plants on the mountain, 38 are rare, endemic or protected, including Adenophora lilifolia and Gladiolus imbricatus, endemic species to Switzerland. The mountain supports the main Swiss population of Iris gramina and important populations of Dorycnium herbaceum and Danthonia alpina. Monte San Giorgio is also known as a mycological sanctuary because 554 species of fungi have been found there, 130 of which are endemic to this part of Ticino, five growing only in one locale, Meride. They include Boletus xanthacyaneus, Cortinarius boudieri v. pseudoarcuatus, Cortinarius pelargoniobtusus, Lepiota foruignoni and Lycoperdon velatum. More than a third of European Boletus species are found here. Two species are protected by Swiss Law (Federal Ordinance on the Protection of Nature and Preservation of Natural Heritage) and 19 are listed in the provincial Red List of Swiss micromycota. The most recently discovered species (Tricholoma basirubens) was found in 1979. FAUNA Including adjacent lakeside sites, 109 species of vertebrate animals have been recorded on Monte San Giorgio comprising 27 mammals, 66 birds, 9 reptiles and 7 amphibians. Of these 109 species 37 are included in the Swiss Red List of Endangered Species, and 21 are protected by the Berne Convention. The site is unique, supporting Switzerland's only population of Savi's pine vole Pitymys savii. The Monte San Giorgio area is particularly important for the reproduction of amphibians and reptiles, it includes six sites identified as areas of national importance. There are also 58 species of mollusc (18 are listed on the National Red List), 63 species of butterflies Hesperiidae and moths Rhopaloceri (a third of all Swiss species), 85 species of wild bees (apioid Hymenoptera), 11 species of ground beetle (carabid Coleoptera), 47 cricket and grasshopper (Orthoptera) species (two of which are endemic to Ticino). There are also a high number of spider species that are found in the dry meadow area. In the Gaggiolo stream there are large numbers of crayfish Astacus pallipes, and in the karst caves of the southern slopes many cave-dwelling crustacea and millipedes. CULTURAL HERITAGE The surrounding area of Ticino has been settled since Neolithic times. Roman and Lombardic tombs, inscriptions and artifacts have been found at Riva San Vitale where there is a famous 5th century baptistry. In the late 18th century, there were excavations for fuel oil from the bituminous shales near Besano and mining continued intermittently for a century. Ornamental breccia has also been quarried near Arzo for centuries. Gypsum peat and lime have also been quarried in the past. Ichthyol and Saurol obtained from the bituminous shales and used for treating skin conditions were mined from 1907 to the early 1950s at Cava Tre Fontane, just beneath the mountain summit. The processing plant at Spinirolo near Meride is now a cultural and holiday centre. The architecture of the villages typifies the Sottocenere lombardic style of the Ticino. LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION An estimated 150 people live within the core protected area of the nominated property. Four villages, Arzo, Meride, Tremona and Besazio are located within the site's buffer zone area, as well as at the base of the mountain, the small towns of Riva San Vitale to the east and Brusino-Arcizio to the north-west. Combined with three other villages in the locality, nine communities occur within relatively close proximately of the site. The total population of all these inhabited areas is 11,500. Mining and quarrying no longer occur in the area, except at Arzo where breccia (Arzo marble), is mined under tight regulation. Forestry and farming are the only other activities occuring within the locality. The local population is sympathetic to preservation of the palaeological heritage of the site. The 'Friends of the Mountain Park', are a local NGO group who propose the establishment of a Natural Park on the mountain. VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES Despite comparatively little tourist infrastructure, 80-100,000 people are estimated visit Monte San Giorgio each year. Public visits to the excavations are organized from time to time. In 1974, a fossil museum was established in the village of Meride, on the edge of the core zone. It currently receives 11,000 visitors a year. A new more comprehensive museum is planned for the future. An educational trail with information displays linking the main geological and palaeontological features of the mountain was established in 1980. Nearby museums also exhibiting finds from the mountain exist in Besano and Induno, in Italy, to the south-west and in Lugano in Switzerland. These sponsor publications and exhibitions. A Geo-Guide to the mountain written in German and Italian is available at museums in Zurich, Milan and Lugano. Local ventures are developing exhibitions of industrial archaeology. Increased levels of tourism will necessitate improved access and trails, as well as the possible regulation of visitors. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES The horizon richest in large fossils, the Grentzbitumenzone in the Besano formation, was studied as early as 1800, and first published about in 1847. Major excavations were started by Italian researchers in 1863, 1878 and in the early years of the 20th century. In 1919, the production of ichthyol for medical use, from the bituminous beds uncovered valuable fossils, and since 1924, especially under the direction of of Dr B. Peyer from the University of Zurich, there have been more than 50 excavation campaigns at some 20 sites. Great quantities of large, well-preserved saurian fossils new to science were found in the Grentzbitumenzone. The southern slopes have been studied since the 1950s, under the direction of Dr E. Kuhn-Schnyder, by the Italian Society of Natural Sciences and staff of the Milan Civic Museum; and in the 1990s by the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Milan, the Palaeological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich and the Lugano cantonal Museum of Natural History. Quarrying and excavations in the Cava, Cassina and Kalkscheiferzone beds have exposed a wealth of smaller fossils. All formations are still yielding species new to science. Over 80 fish, 30 reptile and hundreds of invertebrate fossil species have been discovered in all, recorded in almost 800 scientific publications on the fauna of the mountain, some 70 having been published since 1989. CONSERVATION VALUE The Triassic formations of Monte San Giorgio are a long studied very legible series which illustrate geological processes and the development of past life. The mountain is one of the five or six most important fossil-bearing sites in the world, because of:
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT The mountain area is almost uninhabited, is in a largely natural state and is protected by a variety of Cantonal decrees, federal inventories, local commune plans and federal and Cantonal laws governing forests. These decree Cantonal control over the collection of rocks, minerals and fossils, the monitoring of sites, the protection of flora and fauna, especially of the summit dry meadows, and have designated an area near Meride a Landscape Protection Zone under the Protected Areas Scheme. Excavations (with the subsequent discoveries) are authorised and supervised by the Cantonal Museum of Natural History in Lugano. They are allowed only to university staff in good standing: permits are held by the Palaeological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich, the Lugano Cantonal Museum of Natural History and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milan. A draft management plan for the site has been developed, stating the following objectives and measures:
MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS There are no significant constraints on management of the site at present. STAFF An unspecified number of Federal and Cantonal officials, forestry workers and local authority managers. All have some responsibility for the protection area, however none are funded to work in the area full-time. BUDGET Excavations and exhibitions are funded by university institutes and museums. The Swiss Confederation and Canton of Ticino have granted CHF 500,000 for maintenance of features of the mountain. However, funding requirements for the management plan of the property are not yet estimated. ADDRESSES The following are given management authority over the site: Swiss Confederation Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape - Nature Division, CH 3003 Berne, Switzerland. Canton of Ticino Dipartmento di Territorio, Sezione dei Beni Monumentali e Ambientali, Viale S.Franscini 17, CH6500, Bellinzona, Switzerland. REFERENCES The official nomination document for the site contains a bibliography of over 800 references. The following references are included within this bibliographic reference list and are highlighted as being of particular value. Bernoulli, D. & Wiedenmayer, F. (1967). Exkursion nr. 26. Lugano-Mendrisio, Mendrisio-Arzo-Serpiano, Mendrisio-Breggiaschlucht-Chiasso. Geol. Fuhrer Sweiz, 5:441-460. Felber, M.,Gentilini, G., Furrer, H. & Tintori, A. (2000). Geo-Guida del Monte San Giorgio (Ticino/Svizzera-Provincia di Varese/Italia). Geol.Insubr.allegato 5/1 (in German and Italian). Kälin, O. & Trümpy, D. (1977). Sedimentation und paläotektonik in den westlichen Südalpen: zur triasisch-jurassischen geschichte des Monte Nudo-Beckens. Eclogae geol.Helv. 70/2:295-350. Kuhn-Schnyder, E. (1963). Wege der reptiliensystematik. Palaont.Z. 37/1-2:61-87. Kuhn-Schnyder, E. (1976). Guida al Museo Paleontologico di Meride. 31pp. Molinari, M.,Felber,M.,Serretti, S.,Furrer,H.,Tintori, A.& Baumgartner,S. (2002). Nomination of Monte San Giorgio for Inclusion on the World Heritage List. Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), Bern. 56pp, Appendices 277pp.+ 5maps. [Appendix A contains a thematic bibliography of over 800 references.] Museo Cantonale di Storia Naturale (1990). Introduzione al Paesaggio Naturale del Cantone Ticino, 1. Le Componente Naturali. Dipartimento dell'Ambiente, Bellinzona, 484pp. Monte San Giorgio Website: http://www.montesangiorgio.ch/ DATE July 2002. |
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