Mount Falcone

Mount Falcone, which dominates the village of Montefalcone Appennino from its southern slope, rises to an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters. Formed in the Lower Pliocene era, this mountain is a veritable geological treasure chest, where the Earth’s history can be read layer by layer. At the top, large sandstone cemented sandbars tell of a littoral-type marine past, rich in fossils: mollusks such as scallops, oysters and thistles, and especially barnacles of the genus Balanus. Further down, siliceous rocks and coarse sands outcrop, a sign of an ancient deep seabed. At the base are sandstone slabs alternating with chalk, with fossil leaf imprints of poplars, hornbeams and oaks, evidence of a later terrestrial environment.