Marmitte dei Giganti Park Chiavenna

The   Park "Marmitte dei Giganti"   is located just outside of the residential area of Chiavenna, above the hills that form the area of the Valchiavenna valley to the east and the beginning of the Bergell to the south delimit. The park also includes the regional nautical reserve.
The whole area has particularly beautiful landscapes and offers great and fascinating geomorphological views and an extremely lush vegetation. The numerous easy-to-walk hiking trails are well marked and extend over the entire reserve, as well as several grass areas.

The nature reserve & ldquo; Marmitte dei Giganti & rdquo; was founded by Regional Law No. 86/1983 and was run by the Consorzio Parco Marmitte dei Giganti until 1996. Today the nature reserve is managed by the Comunit & agrave; Montana della Valchiavenna.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARK
This name, which geologists use to describe an exact phenomenon, was used as a name for the entire area Used north of Chiavenna.
In truth, the entire surrounding area is affected by this geomorphological phenomenon, which resulted from the abrasion of the mountains during the last ice age.

The rivers that make up the Catching melt water, flowed above the glacier and shot into the depths at crevices, taking stones and rubble with them.
The power that was gained from these jumps triggered a vortex in which the water and the stones exerted an erosive force on the underlying rock and thus created deep holes with the strangest shapes and rounded the rock and even made it spherical (the so-called & ldquo; mills & rdquo;). The cylindrical or beautiful shapes, together with the considerable size of these structures, have led to the name "marmitte dei giganti" (marmitte=large pots).
A well-preserved hiking trail allows you to see this phenomenon up close.
Along the way you can also see rocks carved by the ice. On some of these rocks, scattered throughout the area, some primeval drawings of significant interest have been found.
So the area is really an open air museum. In other places one can also use & ldquo; gutters & rdquo; and look at cut rocks with longitudinal cuts. These longitudinal cuts were caused by resistant stones that were carried away by the movement of the glacier.
Lithologically, this rock substrate consists of olvinite, metagabrene, amfibolite, which are commonly referred to as the "green stones of Chiavenna". The most widespread stone is the "laveg", which is associated with the medium-fine The hardness is very suitable for potting processing. The green containers made of "pot stone" have been used for the preparation of dishes since the Iron Age.

LANDSCAPE AND VEGETATION
The landscape offers a great variety of different Panoramas.
The visible horizons of the peaks have the highest scenic value: the year-round snow-covered peaks that crown the valley, the slopes with the old, isolated residential areas , the wonderful Acquafraggia waterfall, the ruin of the villages on the valley floor.

The vegetation
The tree and shrub species that make up the forest include a wide variety of indigenous species, but mostly chestnut trees , Hornbeam, ash, maple, linden trees, cherry trees, mountain ash. The esotic, spontaneous species are represented by the common pod thornwood, ie with the red oak and some specimens of the oak.

Of particular interest is the rock cock vegetation, in which the presence of sub-Mediterranean microclimates with Countless specimens of laurel, heather, hawthorn and prickly pear are visible.

Stone inscriptions
On the cut stones, on the vertical walls of the ancient pits, on isolated boulders and in smaller grottos, one can find innumerable testimonies, which prove that this area has been inhabited by people for several centuries and that they have always wanted to be able to communicate by means of inscriptions. Figurative graphics and data complete abstract geometric shapes, signs, abbreviations and symbols that often remain unencrypted because the key to translation is missing. Qualified scientists are about to lead a study that revolves around all the inscriptions.

The potted stone
The "Green Stones of Chiavenna" have different degrees of hardness due to the different mineralological bonds on site. The softer rock is suitable for the pottery for the production of olle (pots) and is called pot stone. Over the centuries this rock has been continuously mined and has had a major impact on the local economy.

Epochal phenomena
The current geomorphological appearance of the local landscape is the result of the erosive and formative power of the glaciers.
Several orographic terraces can be seen at different heights on the entire left side of the Mera river. Above the dam there are some rocky knolls, branched areas also of large rocks, rock walls, gorges, erratic granite rocks and a depression that separates the knolls from the deeper layers of the hills, the appearance.
At the top of the striped and rounded peaks, in the middle and along the glacier peaks, are the Marmitte dei Giganti, also known as the ice peaks. They have different sizes and shapes, such as canals, tunnels and branched tunnels.

According to the experts, these are the most beautiful and diverse testimonies of this phenomenon from all areas affected by the quaternary ice age.
In the area of the nature reserve there are also mafic and ultramafic Rocks, the so-called "Green Stones from Chiavenna" (Ophiolites). These rocks represent fragments of the ancient sea crust of the Tetide Basin, which was formed about 150 million years ago. They also contain a great variety of them Rocks, which are the consolidation product of basic and ultrabasic magmas. These are so metamorphosed that the primary mineralogical bond has practically disappeared and new minerals containing serpentine, chlorite and talc are found.
A peculiar characteristic in this area are the cyclopean boulders that have rolled down into the valley with stone avalanches, these rocks are always the so-called & ldquo; Green stones & rdquo ;. The rock avalanches were caused around 15,000 years ago when the lateral support of the glacier body began to be missing. Underneath this complex split body of rock avalanches, air currents blow constantly with a constant temperature between 6 and 8 degrees (the "sor & eacute; i"). This quality was used for the creation of the Crotti.

REGION: Val Chiavenna Excursion tips/Sights