La Settimana del Pianeta Terra (Planet Earth Week), running from the 18th-25th October 2015, offers a unique opportunity to see some of Italy's most fascinating hidden sights. The 237 events programmed involve some 190 little known sites of geological and palaeontological interest in Italian territory. Organized by university professors Rodolfo Coccioni and Silvio Seno, the week of special events aims to introduce the general public to aspects and realities previously available only to experts and scientists.
The week provides an exceptional opportunity to peep into Rome's remote past and see two different sites containing the fossilized bones of animals that inhabited the area before the last Ice Age. The recently opened Museum of Casal Dei Pazzi in the Rebibbia suburb is constructed over an ancient riverbed full of fossils dating from the Pleistocene period. Descriptive panels document the animal and human life of the time, while the little garden surrounding the museum has been imaginatively set out with the typical plants and shrubs that provided a food supply for our remote ancestors.
Another dried-up river in the countryside near Torre in Pietra north of Rome has provided palaeontolgists with an astounding wealth of material. The 900 sqm site of the Polledrara di Cecanibbio is an eye-popping treasure trove of animal bones, including the tusks and craniums of the gigantic elephants that once lived there great beasts that could reach a height of 4 metres. Over 600 flint tools, found on the site prove that Neanderthal man butchered and ate these animals, probably when they became trapped in the mud and died.
Vesuvius will also come under scrutiny during Planet Earth Week, with excursions to monitor volcanic activity and visit the remains of a villa of Augustus that survived the epic eruption of 79 AD, and it will also be possible to enter the historic mines in Valle d'Aosta, including the Roman gold mines at Chamousira, situated in the mountains at an altitude of 1552 metres asl, and the pyrite mine of Servette that functioned until 1959.
More than 600 researchers and scientists are involved in this ambitious project to bring science and geology alive. Look up the website to see what is planned for your area.
For info: www.settimanaterra.org.