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The Grotta di San Bernardino is a small and fascinating medieval hermitage, nestled at the base of a ten-meter-high limestone pinnacle (the only rock tower in the entire Berici Hills). The building's façade encloses a karst cavity about thirty meters long and ten meters wide. An evocative and mysterious setting. According to tradition, the name derives from the shelter it provided to Saint Bernardino of Siena, who preached in these areas in the 15th century. In the early 16th century, this cave, like others in the Berici Hills, was adapted as a temporary refuge for the local populations, while the Venetian plain was subjected to enemy raids. The oldest prehistoric remains in the Vicenza area (tools and animal bones dating back 200,000 years) were found inside the cave: it was likely used by Neanderthals as a hunting base. Interesting fact: the abundance of animal bones was the main cause of soil removal and the resulting significant impoverishment of San Bernardino's paleontological heritage. In fact, in 1890, the Camerini family, owners of the site, had the rich phosphate material excavated from the cave. It was transported downstream by cableway and used as fertilizer for the fields! The cave is occasionally open to the public, with guided tours organized by the Mossano Tourist Board (Pro Loco), which you can contact for details. http://www.tuttoberici.it/arte/S-Bernardino-Grotta-Mossano.htm https://www.archeoveneto.it/portale/wp-content/filemaker/stampa_scheda_estesa.php?recid=189

The ancient fountain was built by the locals at a perennial spring that flows inside a cave. The spring feeds the stream of the suggestive Valle dei Mulini below, which once turned a dozen wheels. The basin was later adapted to a wash house and in more recent times much of the water has been captured for the local aqueduct.

The Grotta dell'Orco, also known as the Grotta del Boscòn, is the largest natural cave in the area: a large cavern of about twenty meters that originated from the intersection of various fractures in the rock and shaped by meteoric erosion. Frequented by men since prehistoric times, it was used over the centuries as a shelter for shepherds and a humble home for poor families. Legend has it that a disturbing ogre lived here who took it out on travelers with his cries and his lugubrious laugh.

Natural caves near the church of San Donato. Beautiful view of the plain and the Euganei.

Reachable by following path 72 starting from Villaga Fantastic view of the plain, as well as a place of historical interest

A passage beneath a striking rock roof, at the foot of a cliff that cuts through a steep forest. In the area, as throughout the Berici Hills, there are numerous unique karst features (ledges, cliffs, roofs, and caves), the result of differential erosion between rocks of varying compactness, formed in different geological eras. They have been used as shelter and dwellings since prehistoric times. P.S.: A 'cèngia' is a horizontal passage that cuts through a vertical wall; a 'còvolo' (Venetian dialect) is a ravine in the rock.

The covoli di San Donato are wonderful, panoramic. It is a place where an ancient church once stood close to the covoli; later it became a female Benedictine monastery. Now stands a church dating back to the nineteenth century. The walls also have some climbing routes.

Panoramic place on the valley below and on the Euganean hills on the bottom !!! The path to arrive, visit and return to Mossano is wonderful