How did the initiative begin?

Where did the idea to select regional fossils come from? How was it carried out, and who are the main protagonists?

On this page, you can trace the main stages that led to the creation of this national project aimed at enhancing Italy’s paleontological heritage.

2017
The idea takes shape

Dr Andrea Villa, a young researcher and Treasurer of the Italian Paleontological Society, proposes to create a national contest to select the symbol fossil from every region of Italy.

Inspiration comes from two fronts:

  • In the United States, each state has a State Fossil;
  • A few years earlier, the Italian Botanical Society had launched a similar initiative to select a symbolic plant for each Italian region.
2019
Paleodays
The initiative kicks off

Following a series of informal proposals, the initiative was officially launched by the Paleontological Society during Paleodays 2019, in Benevento.

The first step is to form an expert group to select representative fossils. 

A tal fine vengono contattati i referenti regionali per la palaeontology che, nell'arco di un paio di mesi, costituiscono appositi Regional Committees composed of scholars in the field.

Image credits: Università degli Studi del Sannio

2019-2020
Protagonists are selected

During this phase, the regional committees identify candidates in accordance with specific guidelines:

  • Fossils should not be selected solely for their aesthetic appearance, but also for their historical significance and their connection to the region they come from.
  • Fossils must be accessible to the public and available for visits;
  • It is important to ensure awide range of diversityfor example, a Regional Committee cannot nominate only mammal specimens, but should try to include as many different groups of organisms as possible.
  • non There should be no competition between regions: the main goal is to promote and enhance the national paleontological heritage as a whole.

Based on these guidelines, the descriptive sheets for each candidate are prepared.

2022
Paleodays
Voting begins

During the 2022 Paleodays in Asti, the voting officially opened. The vote was made public through a Google Form and promoted on the PaiP Instagram and Facebook pages. Throughout the year, one region would be presented every week, for a total of two presentations per region.

2023
Paleodays
Winners announcements

The voting process ends one month before the 2023 Paleodays, in Lecce, to allow time for data analysis and the official confirmation of the winners, who are then announced during the event.

Each winner is finally awarded a recognition plaque, confirming their selection as the Regional Fossil.

2024-2025
SPI website
A cross-museum digital environment

To broaden the initiative, a cross-museum digital environment was developed as the internship project of Alessio Baglioni, a master’s student in Teaching and Communication of Natural Sciences at the University of Bologna. The project was created with the contribution and supervision of Daniele Scarponi, professore di palaeontology all'Alma Mater Studiorum, con il supporto del PaiP committee and the SPI website technician, Dr Michele Mazza. 

The goal is to test new digital communication tools to promote the Fossili Regionali initiative while engaging an increasing number of people and enthusiasts.

A look ahead

The initiative doesn’t end here!

The website is constantly being updated, and new ideas and proposals are already in development. Thanks to the joint commitment of the PaiP and the SPI, the enhancing, preserving, and communicating of Italy’s paleontological heritage will continue to grow, expand, and reach an even wider audience. 

The goal is to engage an increasingly broad public, making the extraordinary richness of Italian fossils ..

Credits and acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Andrea Villa for sharing the information on this page.