This huge ancient Roman gold mine is full of PEBBLES | Italy | Episode 14

Ciao, bella Italia! After so many first-time visits to new countries, returning to Italy feels like a homey safe-haven. I know the country, I know some of the language, and I just love seeing the familiar architecture and landscape. It’s a pity I have so little time, and I have to pass through Italy in two days. That means a lot of toll road motorways! The only time I get to see smaller roads is when I’m looking for a wild camp spot and visit the “supermercato”. Maps makes me drive through old towns and villages with extremely narrow roads. My car is pretty big, so I’m happy it’s a quiet evening. However, gotta say I would have felt confident in a busier traffic too, since I now have so many miles under my belt and my Mitsubishi and I are working together pretty much in perfect harmony.
I arrive at my wild camp when it’s dark, but I explore the area in the morning. What a strange place! It’s called Riserva Naturale Speciale la Bessa, the Special Natural Reserve of Bessa. It’s an area of 7.5km2 and much of it is covered with heaps and piles of pebbles. It feels almost alien, since the area is so huge and the amount of rocks is so immense. Turns out, it’s not aliens: It’s ancient humans. The place was an ancient gold mine of the Romans in the 2nd century BC, and the pebbles were dug up during the extraction process. They were then placed aside into the heaps that remain today. What a job this must have been!
I see a glimpse of wild boars (and a lot of their footsteps everywhere) in the forest during my walk. How cool!
Then to the border of France. It’s snowing at the border, with only 1 degrees Celsius, so I’m worried about my summer tires, but traction is good and I get to the Fréjus Road Tunnel entrance safely.
The next episode of crossing France is out already, you can go watch it now!
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The Special Natural Reserve of Bessa
www.bessa.it/en...
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Music:
SamuelFJohanns - when sunlight breaks through
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Music_For_Videos - Italian Tarantella
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LofCosmos - Late Night Vibes 1/ LOFI
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penguinmusic - Modern Chillout (Future Calm)
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[@alexvainio]

You can see my diary entry for this episode in the description above!
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