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Balaena Montalionis

In 1873 Carlo Major, an expert of the Geologic Museum of Florence, told to his friend the palaeontologist Giovanni Cappellini, about a discovery near Montaione of a fossil referable to the skull of a big cetacean.

The palaeontologist Giovanni Cappellini was person in charge to study the fossil and explain the results to the scientific community. He discover that it was a bone part of a skull of a big cetacean lived in the sea in Pliocene era belonging to the kind of Balaena, and since it had particular and different characteristics from the other cetacean discovered in Tuscany, he propose to call it with the name Balaena Montalionis.

Later, in the territory of Montaione has been discovered other fossils, from Castelfalfi comes a find exposed in the Civic Museum of Montaione, while other finds recently discoveredat Poggio Tagliato can be admired at the Science and Earth Department of Florence.

It was in the Pliocene Era (50 milions of years ago) the reopening of the Mediterranean Sea and the formation of the Strait of Gibraltar by connecting with the Atlantic Sea: in the sea at a higher level than today lived a kind of Cetaceans ancestor of the ones that today live in the cold Artic and Antartic regions.

Look on a map where is the Balaena Montalionis

Tourist Office
Via Cresci, 15
50050 MONTAIONE (Florence)
Tel. 0571 699 255

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Enjoy
Whatever your needs or your style of holiday, in Montaione you will certainly the opportunity to enjoy.
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Live
Living Montaione means staying in contact with the local people, know the customs and learn their history and traditions.
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Explore
Discover a territory whose origins are lost in the mists of time. In Tuscany, particularly in Valdelsa - the territory that lies Montaione - there are places full of history and charm as ancient monasteries and churches, castles and medieval villages that are just waiting to be discovered by you.
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Taste
An area to live, to be discovered, but especially to be tasted. In Montaione you will find a wide range of local products to taste during the food markets in the historical centre or in the many restaurants of the territory. In Montaione, the holiday is served!
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Relax
Vacation also means relax away from work and everyday stress. In Montaione, in fact, you can relax at the poolside listening to the music of nature, like the chirping of birds or cicadas, perhaps tasting a glass of good wine. This is the true relaxation!
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