The Peloritani Mountains, in the southern part of the Calabrian Terranes, southern Italy, have been classically interpreted as the product of the Paleogene brittle deformation of the European continental back-stop of the Neotethyan subduction complex. This reconstruction conflicts with the occurrence of an Alpine metamorphic overprint that affected portions of both the Variscan metamorphic units and part of the Mesozoic sedimentary covers of the mountain belt. New field data, integrated with petrographic, micro- and meso-structural analyses and stratigraphic investigation of the syn-tectonic terrigenous covers, well constrain a Paleogene collision event along the Africa–Nubia convergent margin that caused the exhumation of the Alpine metamorphic units of the Peloritani Mountains. The syn-collisional exhumation was associated with shearing along two major Africa-verging crustal thrusts arising from the positive tectonic inversion of the former European palaeomargin. Early tectonic motions occurred within the mountain belts and produced the exhumation of the external portions of the edifice. Later tectonic motions occurred along the sole-thrust of the entire edifice and caused the definitive exhumation of the entire mountain belt. The whole crustal thrusting lasted for a period of c. 10 Ma, during the entire Oligocene. The definitive southwestward emplacement of the Peloritani Mountain Belt onto the Neotethyan accretionary wedge was followed by two Late Oligocene – Early Miocene NW–SE-oriented right lateral shear zones, replacing the previous crustal thrust. These two strike-slip belts are interpreted as the surface expression of the deep-seated suture zone between the colliding Africa and Europe continental crusts.

Consideration of six balanced cross-sections through parts of the Finnmark Caledonides, N Norway indicates that shortening varies between 25% and 75%. A restored long cross-section across the width of the orogen, constructed with the aid of a branch line map, demonstrates a foreland propagating thrust system, with earlier formed more internal metamorphic nappes thrust SE 330 km under ductile conditions and then carried piggyback ESE a further 296 km on later brittle thrust sheets. Total shortening is 78·7% with a translation of the most internal thrust sheet of 626 km.

The restored section suggests that: (1) the rate of propagation of deformation from hinterland to foreland is c. 2·27 cm y−1; (2) incorporation of basement into the nappes resulted from inversion of extensional faults formed during Iapetus rifting; (3) during rifting a Finnmark basement ridge separated a 220 km wide southeasterly Gaissa basin from the passive Iapetus continental margin which was at least 423 km wide; (4) the Finnmark Caledonides resulted from a continent-microcontinent collision which obducted continental crust at least 600 km across the Baltic margin; and (5) the Caledonian Baltoscandian margin prior to Iapetus suturing extended at least 400 km W of the Norwegian coast. On a Bullard reconstruction this overlaps with Laurentian rocks in Greenland. The excess continental crust is accounted for by shortening of the Baltoscandian margin during collision.