Parco delle Cave, Urban park in southeastern Brescia, Italy
Parco delle Cave is a local park of supra-municipal interest covering about 960 hectares in south-east Brescia, across Buffalora and San Polo. Its groundwater lakes, dug as quarries from the 1960s, give the park its name; three are open to the public, with about 15 km of cycling and walking paths.
In the 1960s, farmland in south-eastern Brescia was gradually converted into quarries by individual landowners. In 1976, urban planning councillor Luigi Bazoli first proposed turning the whole area into a public park, urged by the Buffalora district council. The 2012 city plan by architect Francesco Karrer reserved the quarries for sports facilities, but a 2016 amendment approved by the council on 11 February 2016 changed the use to a park. The park was formally created by the city council on 16 April 2018 and recognised as a PLIS by provincial decree on 8 May 2018.
The lakes take their names from nearby farmsteads: Canneto, Bose, Gerolotto and Fuserino, the last named after a cascina. A public apiary was set up near Lake Canneto with the Brescia beekeepers' association, but the experiment ended after a theft. A canoeing school operates at Lake Fuserino.
Three lakes are open to visitors: Canneto and Bose since 2018, Gerolotto since 22 December 2021, and Fuserino reached by a cycle path opened 6 June 2024. About 15 km of cycle and foot paths link them; Gerolotto has birdwatching observation points and Fuserino a canoeing school.
The lakes owe their names to nearby farmsteads: Canneto, Bose, Gerolotto and Fuserino, assigned by the municipal council in April 2020. The Gerolotto basin opened on 22 December 2021 after a footbridge was laid to link its two banks, and the Fuserino cycle path followed on 6 June 2024.
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