An example of environmental recovery in long-abandoned quarries can be observed at Cava Bomba.
The extraction activities, from the end of the 19th century until the mid-1970s, had left a barren expanse of rock devoid of vegetation and a high, steep wall where the Biancone and Scaglia rossa layers were clearly visible, testifying to the ancient clay seabed. After the quarrying activities ceased in 1974 and important fossil findings dating back 92 million years were brought to the study phase, the area underwent targeted interventions, including the seeding of species that thrive in temperate climates and arid calcareous soils (grasses and legumes, as well as native trees and shrubs) particularly suitable for the almost Mediterranean local conditions and, in general, for the sunny south-facing slopes of the Hills. Over time, the environment has been enriched with broom (Spartium junceum), wild rose (Rosa canina), manna ash (Fraxinus ornus), and many other herbaceous, tree, and shrub species.
After the inauguration of the Geopaleontological Museum of Cava Bomba (1987), in the early '90s, awareness of using the quarry site for environmental recovery purposes grew further.
In the '90s, a diurnal bird of prey, the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), which was once quite common, was reintroduced to the Euganean environment; in 1993, the Padua section of LIPU and the Province of Padua, the owner of the area, initiated the "Kestrel Project", starting a series of targeted interventions for the continuous and careful study and conservation of the area's avifauna at Cava Bomba.
Additionally, the enhancement of a pond at the bottom of the quarry and the creation of a stable environment with nest boxes, feeders, and large structures suitable for housing young or rescued individuals in poor health, placed in a sheltered position away from visitor traffic, were very important. This way, LIPU has certainly encouraged the arrival of a highly diverse range of bird species, some merely passing through during annual migrations, others arriving here to winter, and some even to nest and reproduce.
Anyone preparing to visit the quarry is therefore required to respect the intimate and fragile biodynamic balances of the oasis and its inhabitants, and it is prohibited to exceed the wooden fence bearing signs indicating the LIPU area. Only through respectful and discreet external observation is it possible to preserve the delicate mechanisms that have allowed this place, once a barren expanse of stone, to come back to life.
