Just a few minutes from the center of Brisighella, the Ca' Carnè Visitor Center and Refuge welcomes you to discover a unique geological heritage made up of sinkholes, caves, chasms, and a landscape waiting to be explored among archaeological sites, lush nature, and wildlife.
This area is one of the main gateways to the Vena del Gesso Romagnola Regional Park, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Ca' Carnè Visitor Center and Refuge offers numerous services for hikers: an information point, a conference room, an educational classroom, a wildlife museum, picnic areas, and a Scout hut for summer activities or organized groups. The Refuge is an authentic example of traditional Romagna hospitality, thanks to its restaurant, bar, and several cozy rooms.
Surrounding the Visitor Center is a network of trails winding through woods, gypsum outcrops, marl formations, and underground landscapes that will take you into the heart of the earth, among canyons carved by the karst phenomena that characterize the entire Vena area. Nearby, you will find the Tanaccia Cave and the Marana Quarry, which can be explored on caving excursions.
The park stretches out under a blanket of lush Mediterranean scrub, dominated by downy oak, hop hornbeam, and manna ash, creating a fascinating and diverse natural environment. Approaching Mount Rontana, you can admire reforested areas with majestic black pines and Mediterranean cypresses, alongside maples, service trees, wild service trees, chestnuts, elms, and Turkey oaks, which further enrich the local biodiversity. The understory features interesting shrubs such as laburnum and terebinth, while the presence of the rare European bladdernut adds a special charm for those who know where to look.
Walking quietly, you can observe local wildlife up close: roe deer, red deer, hedgehogs, badgers, weasels, foxes, squirrels, and dormice. Among the trees, you will spot woodpeckers, hoopoes, and sparrows, as well as buzzards and sparrowhawks, while the darkness of the caves shelters colonies of bats.
Among the park's many points of interest, you will find the Rontana Castle, an archaeological site that tells the medieval history of our hills.
Opening hours
Tuesday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Friday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
