Dinosaur Footprints in Selva di Cadore in Val Fiorentina
Learn all about the Dinosaur footprints in Selva di Cadore in Val Fiorentina. It was a gigantic collapse of boulders which detached from Mount Mount Pelmo that brought this “ancient path dating back hundreds of millions of years ago” to light.
In that remote era the “dolomite” landscape must have been very similar to that of today's Bahamas where strips of sea stretch into the land leaving shallow puddles of sea with the low tide. In these boundless marches herbivorous dinosaurs found seaweed to feed on while the carnivorous dinosaurs who hunted them were preparing to become the undisputed rulers of these newly emerged lands.
These animals that lived on the beaches, which were destined to become the Dolomites millions of years later lived in the "Upper Triassic" era, the period in which dinosaurs first appeared. They can therefore be considered the ancestors of the fearsome Jurassic carnosaurs the best know of which was the ravenous Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The rock can be reached on foot with a hike of approximately 1 hour 45 minutes starting from Staulanza Pass and following directions for the Venezia Mountain Hut on path number Cai 472. At a certain point it is necessary to leave the main path to take a well-signposted left turn that leads right up to the foot of the rock with the footprints. The last part is a bit more challenging due to the elevation gain and in the event of rain the terrain could be slippery.
A cast of the rock, together with reconstructions of some types of dinosaurs that left the footprints are on display at the Vittorino Cazzetta Museum in Selva di Cadore in Val Fiorentina.
“V. Cazzetta” Civic Museum Archaeological, geological, paleontological and protohistoric museum.
Where we are
Via IV Novembre, 51
Selva di Cadore – Belluno
Info, opening hours and bookings
www.museoselvadicadore.it
0437 521068