Itinerary: Acqualagna
Naturalist tour to visit Furlo Gorge in the Marches
If you are a nature lover visiting the Adriatic Coast or spending there your holiday you should take a one-day trip and discover a beautiful environment located just a few kilometers beyond the border between regions Emilia-Romagna and the Marches, approximately 70 kilometers from Rimini and 250 kilometers from Rome. This beautiful, wild and colorful area is the enchanting Furlo Gorge (Gola del Furlo) located not far from the small town of Acqualagna. (pic n°6)
The Furlo Gorge has been shaped by river Candigliano, winds, and other atmospheric agents for centuries. Nowadays the whole area preserves a lot of ancient geological fossils. In this natural paradise, different species of raptors such as the golden eagles, peregrine falcon, hawks, and owls live freely and they usually nest in the rocky walls of the gorge even 500 meters high. This natural habitat is also home to wolves, porcupines, deer, boars, polecats but also to several species of amphibians and reptiles.
The park is 3,600 hectares wide, including woods, meadows, and peaks. In the "Territorial Museum" located in Acqualagna visitors can learn about ammonites, paleontology, and geology of the reserve while the "Punto Iat Visitor Center of the Furlo Gorge Reserve" provides information about tracks, hiking trails, structures but here you can also get some free materials such as maps, guide books, etc.
Furlo Tunnel was built by Emperor Vespasian at the narrowest point of the gorge and along Via Flaminia, anyway, even before that, the Etruscans had already built here a smaller tunnel. The Roman Furlo Tunnel was drilled into the rock, it is 38 meters long, 5.5 meters wide, and 6 meters high. Its construction was probably completed in 76 A.D. and its purpose was to facilitate traffic and trading between Rome and the Adriatic Sea by Via Flaminia. The area is named after "Forulus" which was the name of the Roman gallery. It is one of the few Roman road tunnels which have survived until today.
The area of Furlo Gorge is also rich in truffles. The nearby town of Acqualagna is mainly famous for this precious tuber. In fact, many important events, such the National Fair of the White Truffle and the Regional Fair of the Black Summer Truffle are held here every year. Acqualagna is the only Italian town where to get all types of truffles in any period of the year.
Some pics of the beautiful, wild Furlo Gorge: