Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia (Research in Paleontology and Stratigraphy) vol. 124(2): 387-406. July 2018 QUATERNARY BUILD-UPS AND RHODALGAL CARBONATES ALONG THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN COASTS OF THE ITALIAN PENINSULA: A REVIEW GIOVANNI COLETTI1, VALENTINA ALICE BRACCHI2, FABIO MARCHESE2, DANIELA BASSO2, ALESSANDRA SAVINI2, AGOSTINA VERTINO 2, 3 & CESARE CORSELLI2 1Corresponding author. CoNISMa, local research unit of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 4, 20126, Milano, Italy. E-mail:
[email protected]. 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 4, 20126, Milano, Italy. 3Ghent University, Department of Geology, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Krijgslaan 281 S8, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. To cite this article: Coletti G., Bracchi V.A., Marchese F., Basso D., Savini A., Vertino A. & Corselli C. (2018) - Quaternary build-ups and rhodalgal carbonates along the adriatic and ionian coasts of the italian peninsula: a review. Riv. It. Paleontol. Strat., 124(2): 387-406. Keywords: Bioconstruction; Pleistocene; rhodalgal; rhodoliths; Cladocora caespitosa; coralligenous; deep-water; corals. Abstract. In the Mediterranean, build-ups (created by coralline algae, Cladocora caespitosa, deep-water corals, vermetids, polychaetes and bacteria) and rhodolith beds are important hot-spots of biodiversity. Being severely threat- ened by anthropogenic impact and climate change, they have been included in international directives on environmen- tal protection. This work wants to support the ongoing research on modern bioconstructions by providing further data on the long-term effects of environmental factors on these habitats. Our results are based on the analysis of the existing literature on the outcropping Quaternary successions of the Adriatic and Ionian coasts of peninsular Italy.