Near Ivrea, in the province of Torino, there is a very suggestive area, especially for yours particular geological conformation. Due to the very elastic ground, when you step on the ground of this green area, the forest of Montalto Dora, it seems that everything is shaking around us. And that is why this place is termed as the area of the dancers lands.
The Bosco di Montalto Dora and its dancing lands
Imagine walking into a wood verdant. Now think about how you would react if the plants started to dance as you pass. It almost looks like a scene from a Disney cartoon. Yet such an area exists, and it is precisely in Italy. It is the Montalto Dora wood and, although it is hard to believe one's feet, it is not there no tricks and no spells was cast by who knows what hag. A scientific explanation, in fact there is, and it was provided by geologists. As mentioned, the ground lying on this area has auncommon elasticity. And when you walk there it seems that the plants of the forest are dancing with us. But why does the land of Montalto Dora have these characteristics?
The grove in question grew on a peat bog, that is,marshy area which housed a lake. Many species of vegetable, plus a lot organic material (such as dead animal carcasses). The lack of oxygen, in addition to the human hand, caused the drying up of the lake, first became a pond, then a marshy area and, finally, a peat bog. A significant amount of water, however, is remained under the ground thus giving a great elasticity to the ground.
The ancient Rabbit Lake
The pre-existing lake wood of Moltalto Dora and its dancing lands took the name of Rabbit Lake and it was of very ancient origins. In fact, gods were found in this area finds (an ax, a sword and a pirogue) dating back even to an era included between 1400 and 800 BC. According to scholars, in fact, there was a village of stilts. Its drying up did not happen only due to unfavorable weather conditions. In fact, man too has given his own. A nineteenth-century magnate, Francois Balthazard Mongenet, owner of some steel industries, perpetrated an intensive exploitation of the peat extracted from the lake bed.
The Terre Ballerine and the wood of Montalto Dora, as mentioned, are located on the outskirts of Ivrea. They are part of the area of the moraine lakes of Ivrea, a defined area Ring of the Five Lakes. The municipality of Montalto Dora also organizes a beautiful naturalistic path, which takes the name of In search of Lake Coniglio. The visit is led by some volunteer tourist informants. For more information, please contact the telephone number 0125.652771 or contact the e-mail address of the municipality: [email protected].
