Following its journey is now becoming a trail within a trail! One year after its first appearance, the “Dolomites: walking through the geology of wonder” exhibition continues its journey to bring the knowledge of the geological heritage of the Dolomites World Heritage Site everywhere.
NEXT STOP: PADUA
After attracting visitors’ interest in Belluno, on the occasion of Oltre le Vette (Beyond the Peaks), the trilingual exhibition created by UNESCO Dolomites Foundation and inspired by the Dolomites World Heritage Geotrail will now make a stop, from 6 March to 18 April 2026, at the Department of Geosciences of the University of Padua. The journey through 270 million years of Earth’s history, at the discovery of what made possible the formation of the geological landscape that fills hikers with wonder and that led to the inscription of the Dolomites on the World Heritage List, “reveals”, as the University of Padua writes in presenting the event, “the deep forces that shaped these extraordinary mountains and the natural processes that still mould their evolution today.”
THE DEPARTMENT WILL FURTHER ENHANCE THE EXHIBITION
The Department of Geosciences of the University of Padua has always played a leading role in scientific research on the Dolomite area and actively contributed to the exhibition itself, within the Operating Network of the Geological Heritage of UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, thanks to the work of Prof. Alberto Carton, who together with the geologists Alfio Viganò (Autonomous Province of Trento) and Riccardo Tomasoni (MUSE), provided the essential scientific support for the initiative. But there is more: for the occasion, the exhibition will be enriched with a number of representative samples of Dolomite rocks and minerals, offering visitors the opportunity to observe geological materials first-hand. The contribution of the Department of Geosciences does not end there: visits to the exhibition, by booking only, will be accompanied by PhD students from the Department. This is therefore a truly special opportunity to explore the geology of the Dolomites.
DATES AND TIMES
The exhibition, enhanced by photographs by Matteo Visintainer, drawings by Davide Bonadonna and the exhibition set-up by Biosphaera SCS, will be inaugurated on Saturday 7 March at 10.00 am and will be open from 6 March to 18 April 2026 with guided tours every Friday (5.00-6.00 pm and 6.00-7.00 pm) and Saturday (9.30-10.30 am / 10.00-11.00 am / 11.00–12.00 am). Registration is free, but you must book here.
This activity is part of the project “Capacity building. Strengthening the social and regional capital of the Dolomites World Heritage Site (WHS) for lasting and sustainable development of local communities”, established with the support of Fondo Comuni Confinanti.