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Natural Monuments

Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)

Natural Monuments

Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)

Highlight • Religious Site

Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)

Name: Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)
Rating: 2

Recommended by 35 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

IT4050012 - SIC-ZPS - Contrafforte Pliocenico

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Location: Pianoro, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

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Best Hikes to Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)

4.4

(9)

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1. Via del Fantini through Zena Valley

16.0km

05:04

640m

Cultural trail through Zena Valley connecting ancient castles, beech forests, and a sanctuary famous for September ant migrations.

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Hard

4.8

(8)

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2. Village Artworks – Castello di Zena loop from Zena

15.8km

05:24

810m

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Hard

4.6

(10)

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3. View Toward San Luca loop from Monterenzio

7.94km

02:36

370m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

Stefano

August 13, 2020

contemplative point in memory of the paleontologist geologist Luigi Fantini.

Translated by Google •

Davide

February 20, 2022

Monte delle Formiche, from which you can enjoy a beautiful view, owes its name to a curious phenomenon: around 8 September, the day of the feast of the Madonna, swarms of winged ants (Myrmica Scabrinodis) reach the summit and die here.
This is a natural phenomenon (even if here it is particularly intense and dramatic) common to many types of hymenoptera: the male ants, after mating, are attracted to the places that stand out on the horizon and go there to die. Females will go looking for other places to form new colonies.
The phenomenon is very ancient since in 1400 the church was called Santa Maria Formicarum. Popular tradition has attributed to the event an almost miraculous value, a sort of homage of nature to the Madonna: under the image of the Virgin a Latin couplet is reproduced which reads "centatim volitant formicae ad Virginis aram quo que illam voliant vistmae tatque cadunt" (anxiously the ants fly to the altar of the Virgin, knowing that at her feet they will die).
It is tradition that insects are blessed and given to the faithful (popular belief has it that they cure some ailments).

(Source: montedelleformiche.it/formiche-alate)

The sanctuary of Monte delle Formiche (ecclesiastically called Santa Maria di Zena)

The first news of a Christian church in this place dates back to 1078 ...
Later in time, a document from the 1400s mentions the church with the name of "Santa Maria Formicarum" and already mentions the arrival of ants above the temple.
...
The church was rebuilt several times: in the fourteenth century, in the nineteenth century, and the one we now see dates back to 1957, rebuilt in the same place based on a design by the architect. Gaetano Marchetti, after the devastation of the last war.

(Source: montedelleformiche.it/santuario-monte-delle-formiche)

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 650 m

Weather

Thursday 11 December

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Max wind speed: 10.0 km/h

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Location: Pianoro, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

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Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Zena (Monte delle Formiche)

1. Via del Fantini through Zena Valley

2. Village Artworks – Castello di Zena loop from Zena

3. View Toward San Luca loop from Monterenzio

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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