In Val di Zena there is a monument, created by students of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, depicting an ancient whale measuring 9 meters, whose remains were discovered in the area by a local farmer. The specimen is a Balaenoptera Aucutorostrata from the Pliocene, dating between 2 and 5 million years ago.

“…a prayer for the dead of all wars.” This is the commemorative plaque on the Mater Pacis Altar, atop Monte Calvo in Rastignano.

From this point, the 360-degree panorama stretches north over the Po Valley, with the Alps and the Adriatic Sea on the horizon, and south across the entire Tuscan-Emilian Apennine range, from the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of San Luca in the west to the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte delle Formiche in the east. The view dominates the Savena Valley and the Pliocene Ridge, precisely where, during the Second World War, the Winter Line, part of the famous Gothic Line, was located—a site of fierce battles and bombings throughout the winter of 1944–45. The destruction was so severe that Pianoro earned the nickname “Montecassino of the North,” with 98% of its buildings completely destroyed.

In this extraordinary place, an altar was placed, made from the nearby quarries of the Parco dei Gessi, to remember the dead of all wars and to entrust ourselves to the protection of Mary, Mother of Him who “is our Peace” (Ephesians 2:14). This site, consecrated by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, on June 29, 2020, marks the highest point of the second stage of the Via Mater Dei. It inspires walkers and pilgrims to reflection and prayer, encouraging the human heart—freed from the barbarity of war—to harmonize with the beauty of nature, to lift its gaze to Heaven, and then to lower it toward one’s neighbor with that maternal love that is always a source of life, never of hatred or destruction.

The Via del Fantini was born from an initiative of the Parco Museale della Val di Zena Association—a cultural trail just outside Bologna, approximately 50 km long. It starts in San Lazzaro di Savena and reaches San Benedetto del Querceto (Monterenzio), crossing the entire Val di Zena and linking sites of significant importance in the life of Luigi Fantini (1895–1978). The route passes through locations remarkable for their landscape, geological, archaeological, historical, and environmental value.

Luigi Fantini was an extraordinary figure: a self-taught scholar, endlessly curious, passionate about speleology, archaeology, and geology, as well as an accomplished photographer and writer. He dedicated much of his life to exploring the Bolognese Apennine territory in search of geological “treasures.” Known locally as “al mat di sas” (“the crazy man of the stones”), he called himself the “Appennine researcher.”

In 1932, he founded the Gruppo Speleologico Bolognese with a few friends and, together, they discovered and explored the Grotta della Spipola, which would become one of Europe’s largest gypsum caves and today is a major attraction in the Parco dei Gessi Bolognesi e dei Calanchi dell’Abbadessa. Through his studies and research, Fantini reconstructed the history and prehistory of the territory. The Val di Zena was his favorite place, and he actively worked to protect it from quarrying exploitation.

The Via del Fantini project aims to give due recognition to his story and to the places where he carried out his activities—from the gypsum park and its caves, to his birthplace, to the enchanting landscapes of Val di Zena, and more. The Via Mater Dei covers part of this trail, but it is truly worth returning to the area to experience the route in its entirety.

Beautiful hills embroidered with rows of vines and the purple of ripening grapes. The history of Riosto has been linked since the Papal era to a remarkable winemaking tradition. The sweet fruits of Bacchus were also studied by Luigi Fantini, who in 1961 discovered a centuries-old vine later named “La Vite del Fantini”.

Amid orderly woods of cypresses and oaks stand the remains of a church: an altar and an entrance portal enveloped by nature, where, since ancient times, Santa Maria Assunta has been celebrated on August 14–15.

The Museum studies and preserves the material evidence of the past peasant and artisanal civilization of the Savena, Idice, and Setta valleys. Housed in the historic Gualando barn-stable (late 19th century), it hosts the collection of Pietro Lazzarini from Pianoro (over 1,800 items), supplemented by other donations.

The exhibition, organized as a historical reconstruction of environments, presents the objects in a way that conveys the traditions, lifestyle, and language of the Pianoro community, including its local dialect.