Sentiero Tematico di Archeologia Industriale

Thematic trail with stages along the route of Monte Cinto
Departure: Loc. Bomba - Cinto Euganeo
Cava Bomba is the most significant example of industrial archaeology in the Euganean territory; the external path among ancient furnaces and stone mills reconstructs the production cycle of lime in all its phases, from the late 1800s to beyond the middle of the last century. There is also an exhibition of tools used in the past for the extraction and processing of stone materials (trachyte, flint, and marl) extracted from the Euganean quarries. Extraction activities ceased at this site in 1974 when important fossil finds, dating back 92 million years, were discovered in a portion of dark clay in the center of the quarry. The area was subsequently targeted for interventions, with the sowing of plant species that thrive in temperate climates and arid limestone soils.
Just below the summit of the hill, there is the columnar rhyolite quarry, one of the oldest in the area, used since the 1800s for the extraction of volcanic stone (rhyolite and trachyte), commonly known as "masegna," used in construction, architecture, paving of roads and squares (e.g., Piazza S. Marco in Venice), and in the building of river and canal embankments. Quarry work was very hard and was divided into three processing phases carried out by quarrymen, cutters, and stone masons.
At the summit of the mountain, the ruins of an ancient fortification can be seen, oval in shape and small in size, equipped with a defensive wall and a buttress on the southern part. The small fortress was probably connected to a second castle built where the church of Cinto Euganeo now stands and had an important strategic function for controlling access from the plain to the western area of the Hills. Already existing in the year 1000, as testified by a document written by the Padovan historian Gloria, the castle was owned by the De Lendinara family between the 12th and 13th centuries. Occupied by Ezzelino da Romano, it came under the control of the Municipality of Padua in 1275; in the 14th century, the Carraresi took possession of the fortifications of Cinto, Lozzo, and Valbona to thwart attacks by the Scaligeri on the entire southwestern area of the Hills. Under the domination of the Venetian Republic, between the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle lost its strategic function and, due to its isolated and rugged position, was abandoned.
During World War II, German soldiers built some trenches in the area, partially visible just below the summit, and used the walls as an anti-aircraft position. A curious aspect is the presence, at the center of the oval enclosure, of an ancient stone mortar, perfectly preserved and perhaps used during the banditry period for the production of gunpowder.
Still on Monte Cinto, on the western slope, near a trachytic spur is the so-called Buso dei Briganti, a place full of mystery on the border between history and legend, where it is said that ammunition and stolen goods were stored; the site is enriched by an interesting Mediterranean vegetation and an incomparable landscape of charm.