High in the Italian Alps, where the air is thin and the peaks loom over the glacial Valle di Fraele, a discovery has emerged that has left paleontologists and local officials alike marveling at the secrets the mountains have kept for hundreds of millions of years. Thousands—perhaps as many as 20,000—dinosaur footprints, some stretching in parallel rows for nearly five kilometers, have been uncovered on a near-vertical rock face in Stelvio National Park, just outside the town of Bormio, a venue for the upcoming 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The footprints, measuring up to 40 centimeters across and showing remarkable detail, including impressions of toes and claws, date back about 210 million years to the Triassic Period. According to a press release from Milan’s Natural History Museum and as reported by multiple outlets including BBC, China Daily, and The Independent, the site is now considered one of the largest and oldest collections of dinosaur tracks ever found in Italy—and, indeed, the world.
It was wildlife photographer Elio Della Ferrera who stumbled across the primeval tracks in September 2025. He had set out to photograph deer and bearded vultures, but something unusual caught his eye on a vertical wall, nearly 2,000 feet above the nearest road. Scaling the rock face for a closer look, Della Ferrera was astounded not just by the existence of the footprints, but by their sheer quantity and preservation. "The huge surprise was not so much in discovering the footprints, but in discovering such a huge quantity," Della Ferrera told BBC. "There are really tens of thousands of prints up there, more or less well-preserved."
The discovery was announced to the public on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at a press conference at the Lombardy Region headquarters. Cristiano Dal Sasso, a paleontologist at Milan’s Natural History Museum, did not hide his excitement: "This is one of the largest and oldest footprint sites in Italy, and among the most spectacular I’ve seen in 35 years," he said. "This time, reality really does surpass fantasy."
The footprints are believed to have been left by prosauropods, a group of long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs with small heads and sharp claws. These creatures, similar to the Plateosaurus, could reach up to 10 meters in length and weigh as much as four tons. Dal Sasso explained that the tracks reveal much about the dinosaurs’ behavior. "There are very obvious traces of individuals that have walked at a slow, calm, quiet rhythmic pace, without running," he noted at the press conference, as quoted by China Daily. Some footprints are accompanied by handprints, suggesting moments when the animals rested, perhaps lowering their forelimbs to the ground.
Experts believe the site was once a vast tidal flat on the edge of the Tethys Ocean, a warm lagoon where dinosaurs roamed along ancient beaches. Fabio Massimo Petti, ichnologist at the MUSE museum of Trento, described the conditions that allowed for such stunning preservation: "The footprints were impressed when the sediments were still soft, on the wide tidal flats that surrounded the Tethys Ocean," he said. "The muds, now turned to rock, have allowed the preservation of remarkable anatomical details of the feet, such as impressions of the toes and even the claws."
Over millions of years, as the African tectonic plate drifted northward, the Tethys Ocean closed, and the seabed was slowly folded upward to form the Alps. This geological upheaval shifted the originally horizontal tracks to their current near-vertical position high above the valley floor. The fossilized footprints remained hidden and protected under layers of sediment for nearly a quarter of a billion years, until exposed by natural erosion and Della Ferrera’s keen eye.
The site’s remoteness is both a blessing and a challenge. Located between 2,400 and 2,800 meters above sea level, about 600 meters above the nearest road, the prints are not accessible by any established trails. As a result, paleontologists plan to use drones and remote sensing technology to further study the area without disturbing its fragile context. According to Reuters, the museum noted that the prints may belong to a previously unidentified ichnospecies—a term used by scientists to classify trace fossils when biological information is limited. Only future detailed investigations, they say, will allow for precise classification.
The tracks, some arranged in parallel rows, offer a rare glimpse into the social life of these ancient creatures. Dal Sasso pointed out evidence of herds moving in synchrony and even traces of complex behaviors, such as groups gathering in circles—possibly for defense. "It’s as if history itself wanted to pay homage to the greatest global sporting event, combining past and present in a symbolic passing of the baton between nature and sport," Italy’s Ministry of Culture remarked, reflecting on the site’s proximity to the men’s Alpine skiing competition for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Local officials and Olympic organizers have enthusiastically welcomed the find. Attilio Fontana, president of the Lombardy region, called the discovery a "gift for the Olympics," while Giovanni Malagò, President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee, described it as "an unexpected and precious gift from remote eras." The sentiment is shared by many who see the convergence of natural history and modern achievement as a unique opportunity to reflect on humanity’s place in the world.
Despite the fanfare, experts stress the importance of preserving the site. Its inaccessibility may help shield it from casual visitors, but the need for careful study remains. Plans for public access have not been made, and for now, the footprints will be studied from afar, their story told through the lens of science and the imagination of those who ponder what life was like when dinosaurs walked what is now the roof of Italy.
For Della Ferrera, the photographer whose discovery set all this in motion, the hope is that the find will spark a broader sense of wonder and humility. "I hope the discovery will spark reflection in all of us, highlighting how little we know about the places we live in: our home, our planet," he told BBC.
As the world turns its attention to Bormio for the Winter Olympics, the mountains above will serve as a silent reminder of a much older drama—one written in stone, waiting patiently for its story to be told.
