Fassa and Fiemme a geologist’s paradise
In the valleys of Fassa and Fiemme, the geology of the Dolomites shows itself in all its splendour. In the landscapes of these valleys one can recognise the shapes of the ancient tropical islands that 240 million years ago dotted the Triassic sea, read the traces of the volcanoes that 238 million years ago shook the seabed, and understand the transformations that led to the birth of the Dolomite mountains, since 2009 recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is 1811, Giovanni Battista Brocchi, one of the most important scientists of his time wrote: ‘There is perhaps no locality in the whole circuit of the Alps where a greater number of rare and speciose fossils are found included in such a small space, as in the Val di Fassa’. These few words, which take us back to the dawn of geological science, are sufficient to understand the importance and scientific relevance of the Dolomites and the territory of the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys in the field of earth sciences.
More than two hundred years of research carried out by generations of world-famous geologists (including Von Buch, Von Humboldt, Mojsisovic, Richthofen, Gordon, to name but a few) have unveiled the mysteries and secrets guarded in the Dolomite rocks, making it possible to read and interpret some of the most fascinating pages of the evolution of the Earth’s crust that have taken place over the last 300 million years. The Predazzo area has long represented the nerve centre of this intense research and exploration activity and its territory became a privileged field of investigation for geologists, palaeontologists and mineralogists.
Hitherto unknown minerals and rocks were discovered, which were often given the name of local place names (Fassaite, Monzonite, Predazzite, etc.) and lively discussions arose on the origin of these rocks and their chronological succession.
The variety of minerals, rocks and geological phenomena concentrated in such a small area became famous and attracted geologists and researchers from all over Europe. Some important pages of geology were written in the area around Predazzo: the dispute between Neptunists and Plutonists, which was resolved at the Canzoccoli quarry, a site where clear and irrefutable geological evidence decreed the definitive overcoming of Neptunism in favour of Plutonism, is well known.
Evidence of this lively and stimulating historical phase can be found in the visitor registers of the Nave d’Oro hotel, which from 1822 onwards, with the visit of Alexander von Humboldt, became an almost obligatory place to stay for geologists, who turned it into a sort of scientific club.
The important historical premises have had as a natural evolution the development of the current Geological Museum of the Dolomites in Predazzo (formerly the Predazzo Civic Museum of Geology), a structure that has maintained a close link with the territory since its origins, with particular regard to the research and conservation of geological heritage.
Since 2012 the museum has become part of the network of territorial branches of the MUSE of Trento, in agreement with the municipality of Predazzo, and qualifies as a gateway to the discovery of the Dolomites, where one can take a journey through the past, present and future of these marvellous mountains.
