A new digital lithological Map of Italy at 1:100.000 scale

We present a lithological map of Italy at a scale of 1:100.000, obtained from classification of a comprehensive digital database. We first obtained the full database, containing about 300.000 geo-referenced polygons, from the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research. We grouped polygons according to a lithological classification by expert analysis of the original 5,456 unique descriptions of polygons, following geo-mechanical criteria. The procedure resulted in a lithological map with a legend including 19 classes, intended mainly for slope stability assessment, geo-morphological and geo-hydrological purposes. Other possible applications, including geo-environmental studies, evaluation of river chemical composition, estimation of raw material resources, are also possible and encouraged.