The Lower Austroalpine comprises tectonic units that are derived from the former distal continental margin of the Adriatic plate, which was affected by Jurassic extensional detachment faults. The strongly deformed pre- and syn-rift strata became intensely reshaped and reworked during the closure of the Piemonte-Liguria Ocean and subsequent Alpine continental collision.

The facies of syn- and post-rift sediments of the Lower Austroalpine has remarkable similarities with those found in the Canavese area around the town of Ivrea, which is a part of the South Alpine derived of the western part of the Adria.