In the surroundings of Monzuno we find the Natural Reserve of the Pliocene Contrafforte, the largest in Emilia-Romagna. Established in 2006, it protects the unique area that extends for about fifteen kilometers across the valleys of Reno, Setta, Savena, Zena and Idice, culminating in the spectacular reliefs of Monte Adone, Rocca di Badolo, Monte Rosso and Monte delle Formiche.
Walking in the locality of Brento, you come across powerful sandstone banks full of charm and mystery, in stark contrast to the surrounding wooded environment. To make the visual impact of these cliffs, towers and rock spiers so scenic is the so-called morphoselection, for which materials of different types undergo more or less intensely the erosive action of subaero agents, including the wind, which with the his strength and creativity creates bizarre and unusual silhouettes.
In front of us we have the testimonies of the small marine gulf that was this territory during the Pliocene (5-2 million years ago), when today's Po Valley was still an open sea environment close to which the Apennine chain was already in much of it emerged. In particular, the geological and stratigraphic evidences indicate a shallow sea environment, probably between a delta plain environment and a delta front one.