of great landscape-environmental interest, it is an outcrop of evident dimensions of arenaceous-limestone rock of sedimentary origin (about 25 million years ago from ancient marine basins). It is located north of the Fosso della Bura and shaped over time by atmospheric agents which have shaped its current appearance.
Like the nearby spiers of the Sassi di Roccamalatina, it offers environments suitable for the presence of some species of birds of prey.
The area, located in the municipality of Zocca, has high landscape-environmental and naturalistic value, due to the simultaneous presence of natural and historical-cultural emergencies.
The traditional agricultural landscape scenarios such as those observable south of the Toti house and north-east of the La Bura house constitute a notable overall value.
From the top of the Sasso you can enjoy a wide panorama that embraces the vast expanse of the Po Valley to the north and, in a closer glimpse, the Montecorone valley to the south.
Geological and geomorphological aspects
The Sasso di S.Andrea consists of an overhanging escarpment, approximately 20 meters high, made up of calcareous sandstones of the same type as that of the Sassi di Roccamalatina.
Its current shape is the result of exogenous processes of selective erosion, controlled by the position of the layers and the invoicing of the sandstone.
These rocks are made up of large banks of sandstone belonging to the Anconella Member (Epiligure Succession); they are in direct contact both to the east and to the west with less resistant lithologies, clays and marls, which give the reliefs a softer morphology.
At the base of the slope, a fracture facilitated erosion by the watercourse, the Fosso Livia, which thus visually isolated this arenaceous outcrop.
The typical degradation phenomena of these rocks have given them those characteristic rounded shapes and lines that distinguish it from the other reliefs in the area.
To the south there is the Fosso della Bura and to the south east the ancient settlement of Montecorone.