Seismic analyses and detailed well-log correlations have been used to define the depositional patterns and the relative timing of thrust movements in the highly mobile Peri-Adriatic Foredeep, a gas-bearing basin of Pliocene age in the NE Italy. Due to the high rates of sedimentation and subsidence, up to 8,000 m of mostly deep-water clastics wee deposited in the foredeep in the marche-Abrusso area during the Pliocene-early Pleistocene. Three phases of foredeep evolution can be recognized. In the first phase, during which there was little structural activity, a sandy turbidite system of regional dimensions (the Cellino Turbidite System) developed on a flat, stable substratum. Discrete sand-bodies belonging to this system can be traced over distances of up to 80 km. This turbidite system is a key unit in the analysis of the foredeep. The rapid deposition and burial of organic-rich sediments favoured the generation of biogenic gas. The second phase of foredeep evolution coincided with the onset of structural deformation. Sediments are mainly deep-marine shales and minor turbidite sandstones, which were deposited during a period of almost continuous tectonic activity. A major eastward migration of the deep-marine depocentre then occurred. In the study area, this phase is represented by a series of closely-spaced local unconformities which can be correlated eastwards with a major late Pliocene turbidite system. The high frequency of the unconformities is a distinctive feature of this interval. The third phase was characterised by thrusting in the eastern part of the foredeep and by the development of a piggy-back basin. During this phase, shallow-water, coarse-grained deltas replaced the deep-water turbidite system. Accommodation space for the coarse-grained deltas was provided to begin with by rapid subsidence. The progressive decrease in accommodation resulted in delta progradation eastwards and ultimately in the infilling of the foredeep.