Blank on the Geological Map

This paper summarizes the history of the geological studies performed by Italian teams in the Karakorum-East Hindu Kush ranges (Pakistan and Sinkiang, China) over the past 35 years. These studies began under the direction of Ardito Desio, who was the lead Italian investigator from 1929 to the end of the seventies. The Italian teams were from the universities of Milan, Turin and Pavia and benefited from a fruitful cooperation with Pakistani authorities, mainly the Geoscience Laboratory of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Islamabad.