On dinosaur hunt in Rovereto

It was the rapids of the Adige River, that drew attention of Dante Alighieri, the poet-prince of Italy, to the Lavini di Marco at Rovereto. Today, however, they are only a side-issue in the lime-block reminiscent of a moon-landscape, because today, quite different protagonists dominate here.

What does “today” mean by the way? The Lavini di Marco were probably one day roamed by entire dinosaur herds, which have left their footprints all over the place. In 1990 the biologist and geologist Luciano Chemini discovered some strange holes, which he could identify as some 200 million years old dinosaur tracks.

The tracks lead back to the Jura, where the entire Trentino was covered by water. Numerous creatures frolled in the shallow sea, the remains of which have created the limestone rock, which gives the country its characteristic form today. Again and again sandbanks, populated by dinosaurs, rose out of the water surface. Their footprints are those that Chemini has discovered.

The dinosaur tracks were the reason, that the Lavini di Marco became a protected area. It can be visited from April to October every second Saturday of the month.

All further information is available on the site of the Municipal Museum of Rovereto.