Site visited just recently (June, 2022), tentative site, scheduled for inscription in 2023. Since Astraftis described one component - Upper Secchia Valley - I will try to focus on two other areas located close to Bologna - Messinian Gypsum of Bologna and Messinian Gypsum of Zola Predosa. It is always a kind of guessing game for a tentative site, which part will be inscribed (if any) but anyway if in Bologna it may be a nice rest from endless Bolonia’s porticoes

Parco Regionale Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell’Abbadessa (Messinian Gypsum of Bologna), located south – east of Bologna is a regional park. Easy accessible with a car, but I guess there is also a public transport available. While preparing for the trip I studied the maps and found that Farneto Cave may be open to the public. Hence I started exploring the area from parking near the cave (google coordinates 44.43253927452703, 11.404740950820656, it is only 10 km from Bologna) just to realize that the cave is closed and may be visited on a guided tour, later on I found info that may be helpful for future visitors - Visits to the cave are organized from March to November, only upon reservation, and are led by authorized speleologists of the Regional Park Gessi Bolognesi. For further info you can contact tel. +39 051 6254821 or use email: info.parcogessi@enteparchi.bo.it

More information available (park official website):

http://www.parks.it/parco.gessi.bolognesi/Eindex.php

Since the cave was closed I decided to have a short hike in the surrounding height – I used San Antonio hiking path (Il Camino di Sant’Antonio) – easy, well marked, leading from parking lot on SP36 to Gaibola Valley. On a way through the forest there are numerous gypsum crystal rocks as well as nice views of surrounding area. Anyway, even if the cave was not visited, the park is interesting, for sure those huge crystals forming different rocks.

Messinian Gypsum of Zola Predosa – located south west of Bologna, with car you can get to Gessi (I started the hike from the turning of Via Carrale and Via Valle – google coordinates 44.460710, 11.231730, but probably better starting point maybe be closer to Gessi village (google coordinates 44.46820168160388, 11.216264938103595). At first glance the area looks less interesting than Messinian Gypsum of Bologna. There are no rocks (at least within a hiking path I used – Itinerario Pedonale dei Gessi). Whole park looks as recently converted to nature (in fact it is an area of former quarry). Map shows also the cave nearby (Grotto dei Gessi) but I could’t find it.

Places on the photo, bottom left, than clockwise: hiking path towards Gessi (Messinian Gypsum of Zola Predosa), entrance to Farneto Cave (Messinian Gypsum of Bologna), Crystal gypsum rock (Messinian Gypsum of Bologna), green valley (Messinian Gypsum of Zola Predosa)