Evaporitic Karst and Caves

Since this site’s inscription in 2023, I had a mental block about it caused by its name. I had no idea what “Evaporitic” meant (the Dutch Wikipedia page referring to this WHS conveniently leaves this word out), and then there is also the always-dreaded “Caves”. I didn’t rush to go there, but a trip with my Art History friends to Northern Italy prompted me to add a day in Bologna to get this one over with.

Speleology is at least half of its OUV, but the horror stories of Tsunami were enough for me to not try that here. So I took a different approach to the Gessi Bolognesi: cruising around the landscape on an e-bike, looking for visible gypsum strata and ‘holes’ in the rock walls.

-- First: Geology for Dummies --

“Evaporitic Karst” just means rock with holes and dents in it (such as caves and sinkholes). They could have easily called the WHS “Gypsum Karst” but to be precise there’s another mineral (anhydrite) in there as well. Both are relatively soft and soluble and thus evaporate easily when in contact with water. Another big word to know in this context is “epigenic” – meaning that they (the gypsum/anhydrite sediment layers) were formed later than the surrounding or underlying rock formations. 

-- So I finally figured it out. End of lesson --

Bike rental in Bologna turned out to be a completely different experience from what I had in Japan just 2 …

I visited this WHS in June 2023. Since I visited before inscription I wasn't sure which components would be inscribed or left out, so to be on the safe side I picked the 200 million year old circa Triassic Gypsums (Gessi Triassici) evaporite karsts around the Alta Valle Secchia component, making sure to visit the Tanone Grande-Tanone Piccolo cave system which is mentioned quite a number of times in the nomination dossier. Not being a speleologist and usually not so comfortable in claustrophobic crawling and messy activities in muddy terrain, my target was to safely get to the entrance of the caves alone and explore a small area which is clearly in the core zone (a headlamp and a hard hat are a must).

Visiting on a sunny summer day, I followed the best stretches of the Sentiero Spallanzani route along the Secchia river streams and stopped at a number of panoramic viewpoints to see the Triassic Gypsums and the Bismantova outcrop of the Reggiano Apennines. Perhaps one of the best panoramic viewpoints, close to the Triassic Gypsums, is known as Ponte della Pianellina where one can gaze at the Monte Rosso, Monte Merlo and Monte Carù slopes together with the U-shaped karst valley, while also cool down in the freezing stream waters. This area is also part of the Parco Nazionale dell'Appennino Tosco-Emiliano and also part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is also a Site of Community Importance and a Zone of Special Protection of …

Evaporite karst and caves of Emilia Romagna Region: Messinian Gypsum of Bologna

It was rather difficult to grasp the OUV of this nomination, so I thought there was no better way to recognize it than taking a tour of one of the caves.

The Spipola Cave is one of the two main caves in the core zone of this section of the TWHS. After my two failed attempts to take the tour in June and September 2022, I finally managed to take it in the Sunday morning on May 28, 2023. It was the last day of my 18 days trip through the UK, France and Italy, and indeed I had a flight from Bologna back to Wroclaw, Poland, in that afternoon.

Here is more about how I made the reservation:

I started thinking about incorporating this tour into my trip itinerary only after I purchased the ticket for the flight out of Bologna. So I knew that I had only Sunday morning for the tour, and very fortunately the tour was offered only on Sunday mornings. In fact the tour to the Spipola Cave and the tour to the Farneto Cave were offered alternately on almost every weekend morning over the summer.

http://www.parks.it/parco.gessi.bolognesi/man_dettaglio.php?id=104212

https://enteparchi.bo.it/escursione-speleologica-nella-grotta-della-spipola/

When I sent an email to make a reservation, the first thing they said in the reply mail was "Let us see if we can find an English speaking tour guide for that Sunday morning." Within a few …

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 …

This is to me a bit of a mysterious (tentative) site, and one that I don't know if it will ever manage to make it on the list, although it has potential. But the main reason I decided to write a review for it is that I have a personal connection with this evaporite karst, since I have been visiting one of its components regularly since my childhood: having descent from one of my parents' side from a small village on the hills of Reggio Emilia (the lesser famous cousin of neighbouring Parma and Modena), the gessi triassici ('Triassic gypsums', or better anhydrites) in the Upper Secchia Valley (in the Alto Appennino Tosco-Emiliano national park) are in fact coterminous with one of the major local attractions, the fonti di Poiano ('Poiano springs' - Poiano is the nearest, minuscule village). So my point of view might be subjective, and it is somewhat odd to think that such a familiar and intimate place might one day bask in universal glory. I hope this might help shed some light on this proposal.

So, I can refer to just one component, the "Triassic anhydrites [or, more currently and also on all signs, 'gypsums'] of the Upper Secchia Valley", which however, from the official description, also seems to be given more relevance than the others (it's the only one that is actually explicitly cited there). They are placed along the course of the Secchia river, which is still young and of …