The Diamante-Terranova unit is an oceanic-derived element within the thrust and nappe structure of the northern sector of the Calabrian Arc. Its metamorphic and structural signature reveals a long history of SE dipping subduction and collision-related deformation of an oceanic lithospheric section underlying the narrow Diamante-Terranova basin. The deformation history of the Diamante-Terranova unit may be related to three main tectonic phases. The first one is characterized by a structural association which includes features that developed during a progressive deformation related to the evolution of a deep-seated shear zone. Kinematic indicators characterizing subduction-related structures clearly show a top-to-the-northwest sense of overthrust shear. The second tectonic phase that can be recognized in the area is characterized by structures that may be related to the onset of shear deformation induced by a postcollisional northeastward motion of the overriding plate. The third tectonic phase is recorded by brittle features related to the latest tectonic events affecting the Calabrian Arc during the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Shear sense indicators and available radiometric and stratigraphic information, together with plate kinematic data, allowed us to infer the time evolution of this sector of the Calabrian Arc and to assess that the Diamante-Terranova unit cannot be considered as an ''Eoalpine'' element since its deformation, related to subduction-collision processes, occurred prior to the end of the Cretaceous. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996