Workshop venue and logistics

Dates: 20-26 October 2024 with participant arrival on the 20th and departure on the 26th

The workshop activities are from Monday October 21st to Friday October 25th and include oral and poster presentations spread over 4 days. We will organize a 1 day field trip to visit the beautiful scenario and learn about the geology of the area co-organized with the Pollino National Park authorities and the park’s rangers.

Sunday October 20th we scheduled an outreach and dissemination activity focused on the seismicity and seismic risk of the Pollino range open to the local population together with the local authorities and Pollino National Park. The activity will be in Italian but interested workshop participants are welcome to attend.

Conference fee is 315 Euro per person and includes

  • accommodation for the full stay (single/double room/apartments depending on the availability + breakfasts)
  • coffee breaks
  • Lunches at the conference venue (from 21st to 25th)
  • one day field trip (lunch box provided)
  • social dinner
  • social night event with music
  • movie night at local cinema (movie tbd)

Location: Castrovillari, Calabria (Pollino region), Italy.

The small town of Castrovillari sits at the western skirts of the Pollino mountain range, at about 360 m a.s.l. and it is the larger town in the Pollino National Park. Castrovillari has an old medieval core that spreads on a rocky hill with superb views of the Sybaris Plain. The modern town, built after the 18th century, covers the flat area adjacent to the old town.

From a seismological standpoint, despite being a well-established seismic gap (Mw6+) on the Italian Peninsula, the Pollino region experienced a prolonged and intense swarm-like activity from 2010 to 2014. Notably, in 2012-2013, this swarm activity coincided with one of the few documented slow slip events occurring on a normal fault system, a rarity not only in Italy but also globally. Moreover, the Pollino range has importance in Mediterranean geodynamics as it is the mechanical discontinuity between the Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc. The Calabrian Arc is believed to still be undergoing active African plate subduction. This unique geological setting makes Castrovillari and the Pollino region an ideal venue for hosting a scientific workshop focused on swarm-like seismicity. The setting, situated within the pristine Pollino National Park, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage and Geopark, adds a scenic backdrop to the scientific endeavors that will take place in the town of Castrovillari.

Venue: Aragonese Castle in Castrovillari.

The workshop will be hosted in the old town in the Aragonese Castle, a fortress built during the Aragones kingdom of Southern Italy in the 15th century. Nowadays the castle has a conference room and hosts artistic and cultural activities and exhibitions.

How to get there:

We will offer for participants (free of charge):

  • a bus shuttle service for participants from the Naples Central Station to Castrovillari on Sunday, October 20th and early morning Monday, October 21st for Sunday’s late arrivals

  • a bus shuttle service for participants from Castrovillari to Naples Central Station on Saturday, October 26th

(however the details will be refined after the completion of the abstract submission process).

We strongly recommend using the above option and our pick-up service from Naples airport.


For self-arranged travelers, costs are upon participants, and the following options are available:

  • by train + bus through Italo train (use Frascineto as arrival station that is 3 km away from Castrovillari and needs a dedicated pick up services)

  • by train Trenitalia with high speed train to Naples or Salerno + self arranged bus connection (see below).

  • by bus with the following companies Flixbus, Itabus, Simetbus from main cities in Italy (Rome, Naples, Milan, Bologna etc, check individuals daily schedules and timetables).

  • by car (recommended if you plan to spend additional days for traveling around)

Other close by airports (unfortunately those airports have no easy public transit connection to Castrovillari):

  • Lamezia Terme Airport
  • Bari Airport
  • Crotone Airport

for how to get to Castrovillari from those airports check the airport website or the previous indicated bus lines since some of them may have connections to Castrovillari.