Euganean Hills

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Monte Gemola as seen from Monte Rusta

The Euganean Hills ( it. Colli Euganei ) are a chain of hills of volcanic origin that rise from the Po Valley in northern Italy a few kilometers southwest of Padua . In 1989 they were named the first Natural Park of the Veneto Region ( Parco Regional dei Colli Euganei with an area of ​​18,694 hectares).

The entire chain of hills has an average length of about 15 kilometers and width of about 12 kilometers. The highest point is the Monte Venda with 601 m.

The name of the range of hills is borrowed from the semi-mythical people of the Euganeans , who are said to have inhabited the area before the Venetians . The area is best known today for its geothermal activities, which make Abano Terme , Montegrotto Terme and Galzignano Terme important health resorts.

geology

Columnar fissured rhyolite in a neglected quarry on Monte Cinto

At the edge of the Euganean Hills, older rocks emerge that are not of volcanic origin. Instead, it is fossil-bearing , marine-pelagic sedimentary rocks with a predominantly carbonate composition. The oldest of these rocks are reddish, bulbous limestones of the Upper Jurassic , which are called Rosso Ammonitico due to their relatively high ammonite content . The Rosso Ammonitico is overlaid by very fine-grained (micritic) white limestone from the Cretaceous period ( Biancone ) as well as fine-grained, often reddish limestone from the Late Cretaceous to Early Ocee age ( Scaglia Rossa ). This is followed by the so-called Euganean marls ( Marne Euganee ), which have a relatively high clay content and whose deposits lasted from the Eocene to the early Oligocene . All these formations can be found in identical or similar training in parts of the Alps and the Apennines.

The characteristic cone shapes in which the Euganean Hills present themselves today, however, consist mainly of volcanic rock , which also only occurs locally and comes from two volcanic phases. During the first phase in the Eocene , thin, basic lava was extracted, which, if it emerged on the sea floor, is handed down in the form of so-called pillow lava . In the Oligocene , after a period of volcanic dormancy , the extraction of viscous, acidic lava followed, which solidified to form the trachyte , rhyolite and latite rock that is so characteristic of the hills. The highest volcanic structures of this second phase probably protruded above the sea surface as a group of volcanic islands. However, today's hills are not identical to these islands, but rather lava that solidified relatively close to the Oligocene sea floor and was carved out of the surrounding sedimentary rocks by weathering and erosion after the sea had withdrawn from the Po Valley.

flora

View from Monte Venda

The flora of the range of hills surprises with a great diversity of species. The different soils, the unique morphology of the elevations, the different microclimates associated with them , the geographical isolation from other mountain ranges and the changing climatic conditions since their formation (see Ice Age ) have made the Euganean Hills into a complex natural landscape in which both arid as well as montane and submontane forms of vegetation live together.

Large areas of evergreen macchia grow on the rocky volcanic hills in dry, wind-exposed locations . In contrast, strong chestnut forests with a multitude of spring flowers such as snowdrops, anemones and daffodils extend primarily in the north on moist, humus-rich soils. On the drier soils on the south side there are light oak forests with an undergrowth of hawthorn, gorse, privet and heather. The dry meadows created on cleared areas, which have been given up for arable farming and cattle breeding, are to be returned to nature by the regional park administration. In part, the scrub has spread here again, in the thicket again endemic Rautengewächse ( Haplophyllum patavinum ) and various species of orchids have settled.

The locust tree, introduced from America as an ornamental tree in the 17th century, has spread more than intended; the regional park administration plans to remove it, as it takes up space from the natural forms of vegetation and only leaves a monotonous undergrowth of elder and blackberry.

fauna

Larger mammals have not been found on the hills since ancient times . More recently, wild boars have been illegally released into the wild , they reproduce and are now also causing damage to agriculture.

Small insectivores such as hedgehogs, moles and wood shrews , rodents such as dormice and dormouse as well as carnivores such as badgers, stone marten and weasel can be found regularly in the entire nature park. Various types of lizards live on the warm, sunny, dry rocks, while in the remote forest and macchia areas typical non-poisonous snakes (e.g. the yellow-green wrath snake and Aesculapian snake ) as well as grass snakes and slowworms can be found. Newts, frogs and toads live in the damp forest areas by small ponds. a. the yellow-bellied toad , widespread in standing waters ; Springs and small streams are the habitat of the fire salamander .

Woodcock and field thrush can be found among the over 100 bird species in the forest areas as overwintering ; only in the summer months appear hoopoe , golden oriole , cuckoo , red-backed shrike and tailed Tit . There are finches and goldfinches all year round.

In the open meadow area you can find various species of lark all year round, as well as the goat milker in summer .

The most common diurnal bird of prey is the common buzzard ; also come kestrel , sparrowhawk and rarely the Hobby ago. Various species of owls have been identified among the nocturnal in the regional park.

Infrastructure

A network of sometimes extremely narrow, steep and winding roads connects the individual districts of the communities with each other across the hills. Individual peaks (for example Monte Rua and Monte della Madonna) can also be reached by car. The access road to military installations and transmitters that are no longer in use on Monte Venda is closed to the public.

In addition to this road network, a wide network of hiking trails laid out by the regional park administration runs through the hills. Some of the main attractions among the cultural assets can only be reached on foot or by bike.

16 designated circular hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty are between 1.5 and 21 km long, with an average of around 5 km. The 40.6 km long Alta Via dei Colli Euganei long-distance hiking trail leads over the ridges of the hills. The tourist hiking seasons are spring and autumn. Summer is too hot, and roads and paths can be icy at high altitudes in winter.

Cultural assets

The main cultural attractions of the Euganean Hills include:

The peculiarity of this cultural landscape lies in the embedding of the remote villas, monasteries and monastery ruins in the ensemble of the conical Euganean Hills with their forests, vineyards, orchards and olive groves.

Agriculture

80% of the community area is used for agriculture. Agriculture has a long historical tradition in the area; In particular, wine and olive cultivation are proven by Roman historiography. After a temporary decline in the early Middle Ages, both traditions were revived in the Republic of Venice , to which the Euganean Hills belonged from the 15th century to the end of 1797, and have been retained to this day.

The regional park administration is committed to the sustainable and environmentally friendly production of typical local goods, so that a healthy balance should be achieved between the agricultural areas on the slopes and at the foot of the hills as well as the areas left to nature in the high elevations.

Come from the region DOC - wines of the white grape varieties Garganega , Tocai Friulano , Pinot blanc , Riesling and Chardonnay and the red varieties Barbera , Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot and Raboso .

The Pinello is a white wine made from a special grape variety that can only be found in the Euganean Hills. The Serprino is a vino frizzante from the Glera (that's the name of the grape variety Prosecco since the beginning of 2010), which is only allowed to be called that in the province of Padua. The Fior d'Arancio (= orange blossom) is a sweet dessert wine made from the Moscato fior d'arancio grape variety .

Beekeeping, also suspected in ancient times, produces honey from the flowers of acacia, chestnut, heather and lavender, which has been included in the list of quality products under the directive of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The local olive oil producers Rasara , Marzemina , Rondella and Matosso make their products individually according to ancient recipes.

By-products of many producers are homemade jams, juices and syrups made from wild fruits such as blackberries and raspberries as well as from cultivated Chinese jujubes , pomegranates, nuts, medlars and almonds.

List of hills

Monte Height (mslm)
Alto 182
Altors 366
Arrigon 200
Baiamonte 486
delle Basse 158
Bello 105
Calbarina 136
Castello di Calaone 316
Monselice Castle 250
Castellone 207
del Castello or Cecilia 199
Cero 409
Ceva 255
Cinisella 130
Cinto 282
Croce 090
Faedo 299
Fasolo 301
Fiorin 1 013
Frassinelle 062
Gallo 385
Gemola 281
Grande 474
delle grotto 244
Lispida 094
Lonzina 234
Lozzo 324
della Madonna 523
Marco 350
Merlo 101
Monticello 027
Murals 231
Orbieso 330
Orsara 362
Ortone 168
Peraro 376
Pendice 304
Piccolo 316
Pirio 328
Resino 165
Ricco 330
Rosso 174
Rua 416
Rusta 396
San Daniele 080
Solone 223
Spinazzola 115
Spine nose 202
Staffolo 097
delle Valli 184
Venda 603
Vendevolo 460
Ventolone 407
Zago 149
1 Meanwhile leveled by dredging

Communes of the Euganean Hills

literature

  • Giamberto Astolfi: Geologia e paleontologia dei Colli Euganei (Guide Programma; Vol. 3). Programma, Padua 1990, ISBN 88-7123-074-4 .
  • Eduard Reyer : The Euganeans. Construction and history of a volcano . Hölder Verlag, Vienna 1877.

Web links

Commons : Euganean Hills  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 45 ° 18 '  N , 11 ° 42'  E