Sasso Mobile

Declared a Site of Community Importance (SCI) by the European Commission and used as a nature Reserve, Contrafforte Pliocenico is truly an open-air geological museum. The term \"contrafforte\" means a natural bastion or wall made up of an alignment of sandstone cliff-faces, running from Sasso Marconi to Pianoro and Monzuno, all the way to Val di Zena. The adjective \"pliocenico\" refers to the age of these rocks, formed during the Pliocene era which began more than 5 million years ago and ended just less than 2 million years ago. These spectacular rock faces are the result of the sedimentaion of sand and gravel carried in by the Setta, Reno, Savena and Idice Rivers, which empty into the Padana Plains, in those days submersed by the sea. When the Appennine range next experienced a geological rise, these rocks were elevated to over 600 m. Innumerable microclimatic situations create a one-of-a-kind wealth of flora and fauna, from the mediterranean xerophyte woods in the driest, sunniest parts, to the thick woods on the cool and damp hillsides, with their luxuriant undergrowth. Amongst the fauna to be found here, it is not unusual to see birds of prey, such as the perigrin falcon, woodpeckers nesting in the tall trunks in the woods,river shrimp and several species of tritons.