Thick granitoid sheets represent a considerable percentage of Palaeozoic crustal sections
exposed in Calabria. High thermal gradients are recorded in upper and lower crustal regional metamorphic
rocks lying at the roof and base of the granitoids. Ages of peak metamorphism and emplacement
of granitoids are mostly overlapping, suggesting a connection between magma intrusion and
low-pressure metamorphism. To analyse this relationship, thermal perturbation following granitoid
emplacement has been modelled. The simulation indicates that, in the upper crust, the thermal perturbation
is short-lived. In contrast, in the lower crust temperatures greater than 700°C are maintained
for 12 Ma, explaining granulite formation, anatexis and the following nearly isobaric cooling. An even
longer perturbation can be achieved introducing the effect of mantle lithosphere thinning into the
model.