The Bene Lario Geosite

Bene Lario is a town in the province of Como, located in the Val Menaggio area and is part of the Valli del Lario and Ceresio mountain community. In the Bene Lario area various paleontological finds have been found demonstrating how the geological formation carved by the Civagno stream cover a period of thirty million years. Numerous species of shell, fish and coral fossils have been found in the valley. The 'GeoParco di Bene Lario-Torrente Civagno' covers an area of 7 km, through which it is possible to observe the geological characteristics of the Valley; the territory also includes Lake Piano. The hiking trail allows the visitor to relive thirty million years in 7 km; the study of the area began in the nineteenth century by the geologist Stoppani, who wrote the book called 'Bel Paese', a curious note is that in the Bene Lario areas the Bel Paese cheese is produced which takes its name from Stoppani's book. The excursion begins at the Casa del Geosito where it is possible to read the history of the lake, the valley and the site, the route follows 8 'geostops' which represent the major points of interest of the site. The first geostop deals with the theme 'Stratigraphy along the Civagno stream' and 'Fossili del Civagno'; along the stream numerous fossils of shells and fish and corals from the Triassic period have been found. The second geostop deals with the theme of the 'Civagno Waterfall'; it is 25 meters high and is the main waterfall of Civagno, and it digs slabs of limestone with shale that has settled and then solidified, and it is in these rocks that there are remains of molluscs and fish. The third geostop deals with the theme 'Zorzino limestone: geology' while in the fourth 'Zorzino limestone: paleontology' In the fifth 'Piano Lake and Val di Menaggio' current 'The last geostop deals with the theme of the Massiccio dei Monti di Tremezzo: stratigraphy between the Triassic and Jurassic'.