Vigarano meteorite (Cariani; Ferrara; Mainardi; Morandi; Parish; Pieve; Vigarano Mainarda; Vigarano Pieve; Vigarno; Vigarvano; Vigavano [NHM cat.]), Vigarano Pieve, Vigarano Mainarda, Ferrara Province, Emilia-Romagna, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Vigarano meteorite (Cariani; Ferrara; Mainardi; Morandi; Parish; Pieve; Vigarano Mainarda; Vigarano Pieve; Vigarno; Vigarvano; Vigavano [NHM cat.])	Meteorite Fall Location
Vigarano Pieve	Village
Vigarano Mainarda	Commune
Ferrara Province	Province
Emilia-Romagna	Region
Italy	- not defined -

Official name: Vigarano
Synonymes: Cariani, Ferrara, Mainardi, Morandi, Parish, Pieve, Vigarano Mainarda, Vigarano Pieve, Vigarno, Vigarvano, Vigavano
Observed fall: yes
Fall: 1910, January 22, 21:30 hrs
Coordinates (Catalogue of Meteorites): 44°51'N, 11°24'E [incorrect - see nota bene]
Approx. recovered weight: 16 kg
Carbonaceous chondrite, type CV3

Vigarano, a carbonaceous chondrite (CV3-red.), was observed to fall on 22 January 1910 near the village of Vigarano Pieve (Vigarano Mainarda municipality), west of Ferrara. The main mass (also named the "Cariani meteorite") weighed 11.5 kg and was found immediately, whilst a second part of 4.5 kg (which was named the "Morandi meteorite") was recovered weeks later, a few hundred metres from the main mass (Rosati, 1910a and 1910b). Until recently, only 4–5 kg of the original mass was preserved in different museums around the world. The rediscovery of 7 kg of material belonging to the main mass increased the total preserved mass of the Vigarano meteorite to 12 kg (Trevisani, 2010 and 2011). Vigarano is the prototype for the CV (Vigarano-like) Carbonaceous Chondrite Group. Chemically, CV Chondrites are defined by a near-solar Mg/Si ratio and by their oxygen isotope ratios. Mineralogically, the CV carbonaceous chondrites are distinguished by large chondrules, large refractory inclusions, and abundant matrix. Only 7 CV falls have been recorded. While Vigarano is the CV prototype, it is the largest member of the (relatively) 'reduced' subgroup of CV Chondrites (which also includes Efremovka and Leoville). Allende, a later and much larger 1969 fall, is a member of the oxidized subgroup. Just to confuse matters, however, Vigarano also has a few ‘oxidized’ inclusions presumably due to mild aqueous alteration.

Vigarano is one of the two carbonaceous chondrites in which has been discovered warkite, a new scandium aluminate mineral (Ca2Sc6Al6O20 - IMA 2013-169) with a P-1 aenigmatite-type structure. In the studied section, it occurs as 4-12 μm aggregates of 1-4 μm crystals associated with perovskite, gehlenitic melilite, and davisite (Ma et al., 2014; Ma et al., 2015).

Vigarano is one of the three carbonaceous chondrites in which has been discovered rubinite, a new member of the garnet group (IMA 2016-110) and the Ti3+-analog of eringaite Ca3Sc2Si3O12, goldmanite Ca3V2Si3O12, uvarovite Ca3Cr2Si3O12, or andradite Ca3Fe2Si3O12 (Ma et al., 2017a and 2017b). Like eringaite, rubinite is among the first solid materials in the solar nebula; it formed either as a condensate or through crystallisation from an 16O-rich Ca, Al, and Ti-rich melt under highly-reduced conditions. In the studied section, rubinite occurs as irregular to subhedral crystals, measuring ~0.5‒1 μm, in the central portion of an ultra-refractory fragment with Zr-panguite, spinel and davisite-diopside, all enclosed within an amoeboid olivine aggregate.



Nota bene: The approximate coordinates provided by both the Catalogue of Meteorites (5/e) and the Meteoritical Bulletin Database (August 2019) would place the fall site in the municipal territory of Bondeno to the west of the canals Cavo Napoleonico and Canale di Cento.
The correct place of the fall is here deduced from the detailed descriptions given by Rosati (1910) and Trevisani (2010). According to these authors, the Vigarano meteorite fell on 22 January 1910 at about 21:30, a little over a hundred metres from the Vigarano Pieve church. Eyewitness accounts mention seeing a very bright reddish-green trail, followed by two strong explosions with a hissing sound in between. the main body (11.5 kg) fell 3 metres south-east of Saracca farm house, owned by Michele Cariani. It formed a crater about 70 cm deep and about 1.5 m in diametre, melting the snow around it. The secondary body (4.5 kg) was found in February 2010, about 700 m to the north-east, in the Vignola farm, owned by Quirino Morandi. The two stones are known as the "Cariani meteorite" and "Morandi meteorite", respectively.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References