How did the movement of the Italian peninsula help build the Alps?

The Alps were formed during the Alpine orogeny as a result of the northward movement of the Italian peninsula, which acted as a promontory of the African continent.12

Beginning approximately 45 million to 35 million years ago, the Italian peninsula collided with the southern margin of Europe. As the peninsula moved north-northeast and later northwest, it forced the subduction of the Tethys Sea floor beneath northern Italy. This collision caused sedimentary layers that had been deposited on the European margin to be detached, scraped off, and folded into massive nappes—large, flat rock layers pushed over one another like sheets of cloth.1

As the Italian peninsula continued to override the European coast, it further thickened the crust, causing deep metamorphic rocks to be uplifted and transformed by intense pressure and heat. This ongoing tectonic convergence continues to shape the region, contributing to the elevation of the Alps and the formation of surrounding basins.12