Messininian Gypsums - Pomo Sinkhole (Dolina del Pomo)
Municipality of Albinea
Piazza Cavicchioni, 8 - 42020 Albinea
Phone 0039 0522 590244
Walking along the Cà del Vento ring path you will come across the outcrop of the Messinian gypsum and, near the Tana della Mussina, you can see the Pomo Sinkhole (Dolina del Pomo). With an almost regular funnel shape, 80 x 60 metres, it has a depth of about 22 metres. The edge of this sinkhole is circumscribed, for three quarters, by the layout of a very popular itinerary travelled daily and in every season by numerous hikers on foot, by bicycle and on horseback.
The naturalistic importance of the chalky outcrops of the hills of Emilia and Romagna is well known: they are real hotspots for regional biodiversity and geodiversity where it is possible to find habitats and species of great European interest. The Life+ project focuses on a series of habitats that unite six Natura 2000 sites, analyzing the threats still present and proposing interventions and actions aimed at managing these fragile ecosystems in the medium and long term.
The undisturbed growth of an intricate and dense weed vegetation, dominated by Robinia pseudoacacia, makes it today almost imperceptible in its vastness and depth. The intervention intends to redevelop the landscape of the sinkhole, certainly cultivated in its upper portion until the 1950s, through selective cutting of the weeds. Finally, the redevelopment will be completed with the removal of the filling materials accumulated over time.
The tour of the official website of Life+ "Gypsum" Project is recommended: www.lifegypsum.it/gypsum/index.asp.