Parco regionale dei Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell'Abbadessa, Regional natural park in Bologna Province, Italy
The Parco regionale dei Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell'Abbadessa is a protected natural area spanning across four municipalities near Bologna, featuring striking gypsum cliffs, deep valleys, and clay ridges. The landscape displays steep slopes and eroded gullies that create a distinctive terrain quite different from the surrounding countryside.
The formations here originated around 6 million years ago when the Mediterranean dried up, leaving behind thick layers of gypsum that remain exposed today. This geological past shaped the landscape into the dramatic terrain you see now, setting it apart from the level terrain of surrounding regions.
The park contains caves that served as shelters and places of worship since ancient times, showing how people lived in this landscape across centuries. These underground spaces reveal the daily lives of those who called this area home and shaped it over generations.
The area offers a network of marked trails that connect the four municipalities, making it straightforward to explore on foot across the varied terrain. Sturdy footwear is recommended as paths can be steep and slippery, especially after rain on the clay-rich slopes.
The park holds selenite crystals that form distinctive swallowtail shapes, earning them the local name moon rocks. When light catches these crystals, they reveal a soft pearly glow that makes them easy to spot during a visit.
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