Abstract

Antarctica is certainly made an «awful» place by its harsh climate: in the past, explorers and researchers endured terrible hardships and the climate remains a challenge today, in spite of the many improvements in knowledge and technology. Antarctica may be termed “the continent of the extremes”, as it occupies an area unlike any other on earth. it is the farthest and most inaccessible and isolated continent; the most regular because of its rounded shape, with the South pole at the centre; the coldest continent, with temperatures falling to -90° c; the driest ; the windiest, the highest, the most glacialized. it also displays the most monotonous landscapes and presents the greatest contrast between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. But the Antarctic is also “extreme” because it is the least populated continent, with no indigenous population at all, while its few settlements are concentrated on the coast; it is the only place that does not belong to one nation, but to all the world; it is the place where unique information on the past, present and future of humankind is revealed