The Alano section has been presented at the\ud International Subcommission on Paleogene\ud Stratigraphy (ISPS) as a potential candidate\ud for defi ning the global boundary stratotype\ud section and point (GSSP) of the late Eocene\ud Priabonian Stage. The section is located in\ud the Venetian Southern Alps of the Veneto region\ud (NE Italy), which is the type area of the\ud Priabonian, being exposed along the banks of\ud the Calcino torrent, near the village of Alano\ud di Piave. It consists of ~120–130 m of bathyal\ud gray marls interrupted in the lower part by\ud an 8-m-thick package of laminated dark to\ud black marlstones. Intercalated in the section,\ud there are eight prominent marker beds,\ud six of which are crystal tuff layers, whereas\ud the other two are bioclastic rudites. These\ud distinctive layers are useful for regional correlation\ud and for an easy recognition of the\ud various intervals of the section. The section\ud is easily accessible, crops out continuously, is\ud unaffected by any structural deformation,\ud is rich in calcareous plankton, and contains\ud an expanded record of the critical interval for\ud defi ning the GSSP of the Priabonian. In order\ud to further check the stratigraphic completeness\ud of the section and constrain in time the\ud critical interval for defi ning the Priabonian\ud Stage, we performed a high-resolution study\ud of integrated calcareous plankton biostratigraphy\ud and a detailed magnetostratigraphic\ud analysis. Here, we present the results of these\ud studies to open a discussion on the criteria for\ud driving the “golden spike” that should defi ne\ud the middle Eocene–late Eocene boundary