Description
The paleontological dinosaur footprint area of Lavini di Marco, established in 1991, has been joined by the Pale Rosse Cave, in Tesino, and a sector of the upper Valle San Nicolò, in the Fassa Dolomites. The former is a large karstic cavity inside which large bone remains have been reported by enthusiasts in the sector.
These reports, confirmed by inspections carried out by personnel from the Geological Service and the Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences, suggested closing the cave in order to preserve the large areas still intact. In order to assess its real potential and plan medium-term study and enhancement measures, an initial exploratory excavation campaign was carried out in the cavity in the summer of 2002 in collaboration with the Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences. It was thus confirmed that the cave, despite widespread unauthorised excavation, retains a very high level of naturalistic interest. The stratigraphic context is still perfectly legible in large areas of the cavity in which numerous intact skeletal remains of individuals of Ursus spelaeus (cave bear), Capra ibex (ibex) and Rupicapra rupicapra (chamois) are preserved. For these reasons, a multi-year survey activity has been planned to reconstruct the population dynamics of large vertebrates and environmental changes in the Perialpine region.
Of similar scientific value is the vast mineralised fissure located on the ridge of Sas de Roces (2618 m a.s.l.) in the upper Valle di Fassa. The cavity, reported to P.A.T. by mineral researchers, appears as a completely mineralised geode with calcite crystals that often exceed 20 cm in size. In terms of size and preservation, the mineralised vein is unique in the Southern Alps and it was therefore deemed necessary to protect it by means of a complete closure and to initiate a specialised study in view of a possible future valorisation, also in terms of public use.