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Natural caves of Onfero, to visit!

In the eastern part of the Giove hill of Santarcangelo di Romagna, approximately 150 hypogea are excavated in the sandstone and clay, forming an underground route of approximately 5–6 km. Most date back to the medieval period, in which period they were used as warehouses and cellars for the conservation of Sangiovese (given that the temperature is constantly around 12 °C and the humidity 80-90%) and others, according to scholars, had more ancient origins, used in particular as early Christian caves and places of Roman or Byzantine worship. During the Second World War they were excellent refuges for the inhabitants of the city and, for this reason, they were all connected. taken from Wikipedia

The Onferno Caves are a karst complex of caves located in the chalk.

World War II shelters

This second part - for those descending from Monte Scudo - is equally interesting in particular because two refuges from the Second World War are clearly visible. Attention ⚠️ the first part of the path is covered by vegetation (at least during the summer when I walked it). There are so many joints that it's really hard to see where you're going. Follow the trail. The second part of the path after the caves is much cleaner probably because it is traveled from below from where there are signs for the provincial sp41 after Trarivi (near the church of Peace)

Interesting to see, it's not clear to me if they were military posts or for civilians. In shelter 2 there is stagnant water

Inside the Nature Reserve there is the Grotta di Onferno, 700 m long and 70 m deep, with a difference in height of about 70 m originating from some streams that descending from Monte Croce, reached the chalky cliff, begin an underground path, to resurface more Valley. The exploration of the cave took place in 1916 by Lodovico Quarina, who went up the cave from the resurgence to the sinkhole. Today's guided tours retrace this direction and allow you to admire the typical alabastrines of the chalky caves. Near the exit there are some rooms enlarged by collapse phenomena. In the Quarina Room the vault is animated by mamelons, curious conical structures among the most beautiful and largest in Europe that indicate the base of a layer of plaster. The cave houses the most important bat colony in the region, with eight different species. Since the summer of 1989, the cave has been open to the public, it is a sort of natural tunnel that is easy to access through the two entrances and just as easily walkable (thus unique in Emilia-Romagna). (Source: https://prolocogemmano.it/grottedionferno/)

For the visit to the caves bring stuff not to worry if it gets dirty. The passages are narrow and you crawl the rocks. But it is suggestive and worth it. Highly recommended