Vestenanova
Vestenanova lies in eastern Lessinia, among the mountains separating the Alpone valley from the Illasi valley, in the province of...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Vestenanova
Bolca and the Pesciara, a world paleontological treasure
The hamlet of Bolca, nestled among the mountains of eastern Lessinia, is home to the Pesciara, a limestone quarry from which fish, plant, crustacean and mollusc fossils dating back around fifty million years, to the Middle Eocene, are extracted. The exceptional preservation quality of these specimens, due to the particular chemical conditions of the tropical seabed that once covered this area, has made Bolca an international reference point for Tertiary fish paleontology. From March to November it is possible to visit the Pesciara quarry with an expert guide, accessing the mining environments where fossils are still extracted today, an experience combining science and landscape in a truly unique setting.
The Museo dei Fossili di Bolca
The Museo dei Fossili di Bolca, located in the small village of the same name, displays more than five hundred fossil specimens, mostly fish but also crustaceans, molluscs, insects, palms and fossilised coconuts, all dating to the Middle Eocene. Scholars consider it one of the world's most important museums for Tertiary-era fossil fish, and its specimens also feature in the collections of the Verona Museum of Natural History and international scientific institutions. Despite its scientific importance, the museum retains an accessible, educational scale, suited to a non-specialist audience, including families with children curious about paleontology.
Chestnut woods and the landscape of eastern Lessinia
Beyond the paleontological phenomenon of Bolca, Vestenanova is also a genuine mountain municipality, with slopes covered by extensive chestnut woods that have supplied timber and fruit to the local community for centuries. In autumn, chestnut gathering remains a widespread activity, celebrated at small village festivals, while trails through the chestnut groves offer restorative walks between October and November. The landscape alternates between high pastures, small stone hamlets and views over the Alpone valley, forming a Lessinia setting less visited than the central plateau, but just as genuine.
Small hamlets and mountain life
Vestenanova's municipal territory includes several scattered hamlets, each with its own small identity: clusters of a few stone houses, country churches and narrow roads climbing the slopes. This is a settlement pattern typical of the Veneto mountains, designed to make use of cultivable land and available pastures in a largely steep territory. Daily life still revolves around mountain farming, though many residents today work in the industrial valley floors of the Alpone area. Visiting Vestenanova's smaller hamlets, beyond Bolca, means discovering a lesser-known but equally authentic side of Verona's Lessinia.
A territory for hiking and scientific tourism
Vestenanova combines two complementary tourist strands: the scientific one, tied to Bolca's paleontological phenomenon, and the hiking one, tied to the trails of eastern Lessinia. A well-organised visit can combine a morning at the Fossil Museum and the Pesciara quarry with an afternoon walking through the chestnut woods or the municipality's scenic hamlets. It is an offer suited both to families with children fascinated by dinosaurs and fossils, and to hikers seeking quiet, uncrowded trails, in a setting where nature and science coexist naturally.
Experiences not to miss
- Visit the Museo dei Fossili di Bolca and its Eocene specimens
- Take the guided tour of the Pesciara quarry (March to November)
- Walk through the chestnut woods of eastern Lessinia
- Explore the scattered stone hamlets across the municipality
- Join an autumn mountain chestnut festival
To see
What to see in Vestenanova
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Vestenanova
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