Where did we come from? How was the world around us formed?

These questions are powerful engines of reflection, responding to a visceral need to know where we come from, where we belong and to understand the world around us.

Our planet, Earth, is a planet like any other. Like others, it is unique. Planets share some of their history but have evolved differently, developing their own individualities. Earth is the only known planet that harbors life. Among all the organisms that have succeeded one another, one has demonstrated a great capacity to dominate its environment and adapt it to its needs: Man.

Man hates ignorance. That is why he began very early on to study these questions in order to understand the Earth. But can we really claim to know the Earth when so many interpretations and uncertainties are involved? Man studied the subject, first through philosophy, then through geology. The study of the lithosphere reveals an astonishing amount of information that allows us to trace its formation. Today a history of the Earth has been written since its birth, but the scenario is not set in stone and will continue to evolve as discoveries are made. It has not always resembled the beautiful, calm and peaceful blue planet. Its birth and "infancy" were chaos, an unprecedented hell with unimaginable heat.

How did it evolve into the Earth we know today? What was the Earth like 3 billion years ago?