Bolca is a village in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, on the southern margin of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. It is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Vestenanova Vestenanova is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northeast of Verona. Vestenanova borders the following municipalities: Altissimo, Badia Calavena, Chiamp ...

, in the

province of Verona The Province of Verona ( it, Provincia di Verona) is a province in the Veneto administrative region of Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake GardaItaly's largestis divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia (Lombardy region) and Trenti ...

. The area is famous for the marine fossils from the

lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These for ...

of ''

Monte Bolca Monte Bolca is a lagerstätte near Verona, Italy that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene. Geology Monte Bolca was uplifted from the T ...

''. It was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Geography

Bolca lies in the Lessini Alps. Monte Bolca was originally at the bottom of the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

before being uplifted from the ocean floor during the formation of the

. This happened in two stages, one 24 million years ago and one between 30 and 50 million years ago.

History

The area was settled in prehistoric times, there are remains of a hill fort on Monte Purga dating from around 1000 BC. The Romans were active in the area, and by 1000AD the village had come under the control of a convent of the Augustinian

Eremitani The Church of the Eremitani (Italian: ''Chiesa degli Eremitani''), or Church of the Hermits, is a former-Augustinians, Augustinian, 13th-century Gothic architecture, Gothic-style church in Padua, region of the Veneto, Italy. It is also now notable ...

. In the thirteenth century the fortunes of the Vestenanova area were closely tied to the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

Ezzelino III da Romano Ezzelino III da Romano (25 April 1194, Tombolo7 October 1259) was an Italian feudal lord, a member of the Ezzelino family, in the March of Treviso (in modern Veneto). He was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II ( r. 1220–1250), and ruled ...

family, the Lords of Verona, whose estates were razed in 1260. The Mezzagonella's castle of "Bubulka cum Vulpiana" was seized by

Mastino I della Scala Mastino I della Scala (died 26 October 1277), born Leonardo or Leonardino, was an Italian '' condottiero,'' who founded the Scaliger house of Lords of Verona. The son of Jacopino della Scala, he was ''podestà'' of Cerea in 1259, and then ''podes ...

, Ezzelino da Romano's successor, from Ludovico count of San Bonifacio during the 1269-70 war between the

Guelphs and Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

. From then on the village was part of Verona, but gained its independence in 1326 by edict of

Cangrande I della Scala Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante ...

. In 1387 the area passed to the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

; under

Gian Maria Visconti Gian Maria Visconti (or Giovanni Maria; 7 September 1388 – 16 May 1412) was the second Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated. He had no childre ...

it fell to Venetian rule from 1410 until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. After the defeat of Napoleon, the

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

became part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, during which time

Francis I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

spent three days in Bolca. In 1821 Bolca was split from Volpiano, the former being joined to Vestenanova, whilst Volpiano became a ''frazione'' of

Crespadoro Crespadoro is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, north-eastern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterrane ...

, a town now in the

province of Vicenza The Province of Vicenza ( it, Provincia di Vicenza) is a province in the Veneto region in northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza. The province has an area of 2,722.53 km², and a total population of 865,082 (as of 2017). There are 1 ...

. The fossils at Monte Bolca have been known since at least the 16th century, and were studied intensively in the 19th century once it was definitively proven that fossils were the remnants of dead animals.

Fossils

Strictly speaking, the Monte Bolca site is one specific spot near the village of Bolca in Italy, known as the ''Pesciara'' ("The Fishbowl") due to its many extraordinarily well preserved Eocene

fish fossil The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. It was during this time that the early chordates developed the skull and the vertebral column, leading to the first craniates and vertebrates. The first fis ...

s. However, there are several other related outcroppings in the general vicinity that also carry fossils, such as Monte Postale and Monte Vegroni. The term Monte Bolca is used interchangeably to refer to the original site, or to all the sites collectively. The entire formation consists of of

lithographic limestone Lithographic limestone is hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect free to be used for lithography. Geologists use the term "lithographic texture" to refer to a grain size under 1/250 mm. The term "sublithog ...

, all of which contain fossils, but interspersed in which are the lagerstätte layers that contain the highly preserved specimens. Within these layers, the fish and other specimens are so highly preserved that their organs are often completely preserved in fossil form, and even the skin color can sometimes be determined. The normal rearrangement of the specimens caused by mud-dwelling organisms in the layer before it turned to stone has been avoided—it is assumed that the mud in question was low in oxygen, preventing both decay and the action of scavengers. Fossils from Monte Bolca are commonly available for sale by commercial fossil dealers, and due to their popularity and preservation regularly sell for several hundred euros. Fossil species include the moonfish ''

Mene rhombea ''Mene rhombea'' is an extinct perciform fish belonging to the family Menidae. During the Middle Eocene (Lutetian epoch), about 48 to 40 mya, these fishes lived in the Tethys Ocean, a large tropical sea in the area corresponding to the current Me ...

'' and ''

Mene oblonga ''Mene oblonga'' is a species of ray-finned fish that first appeared in the Monte Bolca Lagerstatten during the Lutetian epoch of the Eocene. For a menid, it has a very shallow body, especially in comparison with the sympatric '' Mene rhombea ...

'', the batfish ''Eoplatax papilio'', the

spadefish Ephippidae is a family containing the spadefishes, with about eight genera and a total of 20 marine species. Well-known species include the Atlantic spadefish (''Chaetodipterus faber'') and the reef-dwelling genus ''Platax'', the batfishes, whic ...

Exellia velifer ''Exellia'' is a genus of extinct spadefish that lived in the Tethys Ocean during the early Paleogene. The adult form is shaped akin to a large spadefish or a short dolphinfish, with very large pelvic fins, and a long dorsal fin starting from in ...

'', the "angelfish"

carangid The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only famil ...

, ''

Ceratoichthys ''Ceratoichthys pinnatiformis'' is an extinct species of lookdown-like prehistoric jackfish that lived during the Lutetian epoch, of the Middle Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. The dorsal and anal fins of ''C. pinnatiformis'' had very high, narro ...

'', a

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

, ''Crocodilus vicetinus'', and a snake, ''Archaeophis bolcaensis''.

Economy

The area is dependent on tourism and agriculture; the famous wine regions of

Valpolicella Valpolicella (, , ) is a viticulture (wine), viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy (wine), Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine producti ...

and Soave lie just to the south. In the village there is a museum with three rooms of fossils from the area.

Notes and references

External links