> The Polcenigo Limestones <

The Polcenigo limestones represent fossil evidence of an ancient marine ecosystem that developed in the Cansiglio – Cavallo area during the Late Jurassic, between 155 and 150 million years ago.

Before the formation of the Alps during the Alpine Orogeny, Polcenigo was an integral part of a vast carbonate platform known as the Friulian Platform. Located at tropical latitudes and immersed in the warm climate of the Mesozoic, this area hosted an environment rich in animal and plant life.

Comparable to the modern-day Bahamas, the Friulian Platform was distinguished by its shallow seabed, composed primarily of calcium carbonate and immersed in calm, warm, and nutrient-rich waters. At the end of the Jurassic, as a result of the stable and favourable environmental conditions, numerous reef-building organisms found the ideal context to proliferate along the western edges of this platform. This resulted in the formation of an impressive reef system, composed of corals of various shapes and sizes, from the most delicate and branched, which preferred calm areas, to the more massive ones able to resist strong waves and currents. This ecosystem became an ideal refuge for many other life forms, such as sea urchins, molluscs and sponges. Today, the fossil remains of the ancient Jurassic reef are preserved among these rock layers, known geologically as the Polcenigo Limestones. The large quantity and diversity of the finds, as well as the size of the area occupied, make this outcrop unique for its beauty and specificity.