Along the provincial road that connects Rocca di Mezzo to Secinaro, in an isolated but easily reachable area, set in a small plateau at about 1100 meters above sea level, at the foot of the majestic ridge of Mount Sirente, the first meteorite impact crater in Italy was discovered. To the visitor it appears as a small circular lake, about 140 meters in diameter and accompanied by 17 other smaller craters. The recent discovery was made by researchers Jens Ormo, Angelo Pio Rossi and Goro Kamatsu of the International Research School of Planetary Sciences in Pescara. Radiocarbon analysis leaves no doubt: the terrible impact occurred about 1650 years ago, in the fourth century AD.
It is the only meteorite crater in Italy and the 156th in the world. Moreover, it is among the best preserved, given its relative young age and location away from population centers that have preserved it from any erosive action of anthropogenic type.
