In the Corsica Island, a stack of metamorphic continental units derived from the European continental margin is thrust over a pre‐Alpine basement during the convergence‐related processes in the Late Eocene–Early Miocene time span. The Piedigriggio‐Prato Unit is representative of these units. Its tectono‐metamorphic history has been reconstructed by an integrated approach, ranging from map‐ to meso‐ and microscopic scale analyses. This unit is characterized by a polyphase deformation history that consists of three deformation phases developed under retrograde metamorphism ranging from blueschist to sub‐greenschist facies metamorphic conditions. At the map‐scale, the Piedigriggio‐Prato Unit is characterized by km‐size isoclinal folds deformed by open to closed recumbent folds producing Type 3 fold interference pattern. The features of the deformations and the P–T conditions suggest that the first two phases were acquired during the ductile extrusion of the Piedigriggio‐Prato Unit. Before the Early Miocene, the gravitational collapse of over‐thickened continental crust produced vertical shortening and the consequently recumbent F3 folds. The exhumation history of the Piedigriggio‐Prato Unit can be viewed as representative for the exhumation of a continental crust fragment during the transition from the continental subduction to the continental collision. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In Corsica, continental units (the Lower Units) affected by high-pressure metamorphism represent the remains of the European margin deformed during the Alpine orogeny. In order to document how Alpine deformation and metamorphism changed along the European margin involved in the Alpine subduction, we selected three key areas: the Corte, Cima Pedani, and Ghisoni transects. The three transects show a broadly similar lithostratigraphy. They are characterized by a Variscan basement intruded by Permo-Carboniferous metagranitoids, and by a sedimentary cover including Mesozoic carbonates and middle to late Eocene breccias and sandstones. The three transects recorded a similar deformation history with three deformation phases. Thermo-baric estimations, instead, reveal that each unit was exhumed along an independent retrograde path within the orogenic Alpine wedge. In particular, the lowest units of the Lower Units stack were exhumed along an isothermal path, whereas those located at upper structural levels experienced progressive heating.

The area between Golo and Tavignano valleys in Central Corsica (latitudes 42°23′12,18′′N to 42°18′24,60′′N, longitudes 9°07′49,30′′E to 9°11′35,90′′E) is characterized by the occurrence of continental metamorphic units belonging to the Lower Units of Alpine Corsica. These units, also known as Corte Slices, represent the fragments of the European continental margin involved in the continental subduction and the subsequent collision, both resulting from the closure of the Ligure-Piemontese oceanic Basin. These units are thus characterized by complex, polyphased deformation history developed under blueschist to greenschist metamorphic facies conditions during the Late Eocene to Early Miocene time span. In the study area, the Corte Slices have been investigated by a multidisciplinary approach consisting of a detailed mapping associated with meso- and micro-structural analyses and estimate of the P-T conditions of the metamorphic events. The 1:10,000 scale geological map illustrates the results of this approach that has provided a detailed snapshot of the stratigraphic and structural setting of Corte Slices