The Caves of Mount Fenera

What makes Mount Fenera unique is the presence of its numerous caves, which , over tens of thousands of years, have been inhabited by living creatures of various species, including some now extinct, such asthe cave bear and the Merk rhinoceros.The Neanderthal remains found at Fenera make the mountain the oldest prehistoric site in Piedmont. All this is inextricably linked to the geological history of this area:

• Neanderthal man and his artefacts would not have been found here if the caves had not been there;
• The caves exist because a complex karst system was able to develop;
• Karst processes occur only in certain types of rock, and predominantly in carbonate rocks;
• Rocks such as limestone and dolomite can form under certain environmental conditions, namely those found on carbonate platforms and coral reefs;
• The preservation of these rocks in Valsesia is due to the tectonics of the area, namely the faults which, by causing the movement of large rock masses, ensured that the rocks of the ancient warm sea of the Mesozoic Era were not completely eroded away, as has happened in the neighbouring areas.