A single crystal of zircon from the basal sequence of Tertiary lavas outcropping at Campanella di Altissimo (Vicenza) was dated by the U-Pb radiometric method, applying the Sensitive High mass Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) tecnique. An age of 44.9+/-2.8 Ma was obteined, as a mean, on six analysed points. As some distinctive features (e.g. Th/U ratio, cathodoluminescence image) indicated that the zircon is of magmatic origin, the mineral age corresponds to that of the host rock. It is therefore possible to attribute the initial basaltic emission, produced by the volcanic activity in the Veneto area, to the Lutetian
