Riserva Naturale della Val Rosandra - Dolina Glinščice

The Rosandra - Glinščica stream is situated beyond the current state border, in the municipality of Hrpelje-Kozina, east of Bottazzo-Botač, and from here, up to the first waterfall, it is generically called "Potok" (meaning brook, stream). The etymology of the name Rosandra-Glinščica is very uncertain, but it seems to come from the noun "Klin" (meaning wedge), and "klinčica" stands for the flowing of the stream into the narrow calcareous space of the mounts that delimit that stretch of valley. The Rosandra stream also has a waterfall: a 35-meters-high fall which makes water flow into an erosion basin and form a small lake with green and blue shades. This is the first of the 21 basins that can be found in the short stretch between the waterfall and the village of Bagnoli della Rosandra-Boljunec.

In the 2nd century A.D. the Romans built the aqueduct which channeled the Rosandra - Glinščica's water and the Crogole-Kroglje and Dolina springs towards Trieste. It was a simple structure consisting of a stone base and two side walls joint and covered through a vault. It was 160 cm deep and 55 cm long, with a 17 kilometers long route; it allowed a daily flow of 5,800 cubic meters of water per day to the city of Trieste. Some stretches have endured until the present days, and its ruins can be observed at the entrance of the valley (CAI path no. 1).

Merged into the wild environment on a rocky underground, the small church rises on a steep cliff on the left of the stream Rosandra - Glinščica. In a document dating back to 1367, it is mentioned as a destination for penitent pilgrims: it reports that those who swore in public or used a vulgar talk had to go on foot to the small Santa Maria church in Siaris and ask for the Virgin Mary's forgiveness.

The place is particularly fascinating and features a unique panorama: from the rocky ridges one can enjoy the view of the valley, of the surrounding territory and of the Rosandra stream.

Built in a strategical location on the Moccò upland (241 m), it had been for centuries an innovative shelter for the inhabitants of Trieste. The most ancient document regarding the Castle dates back to 1190. It was used as a mew and from here it was possible to control the salt way through which the salt was brought from the sea to Carniola. After its destruction in 1511 the new castle was built a little below by using the stones of the old one during the 17th century. In the 19th century it was converted to restaurant and hotel. The square tower endured until the last days of World War II, when the German troops made it blow up, and only some traces had been left. From the location where the Moccò - Muhov Castle was situated, visitors can enjoy a beautiful view of the valley and of the gulf of Trieste.

The San Servolo castle, today situated in a Slovenian territory, has been inhabited since prehistory and its partially ruined solid walls and the tower can be admired from the village of Dolina. These ruins, in contrast to the peace which characterizes the whole area, remind us that this place had been for centuries one of the stages for the pilgrims going to Jerusalem: many petroglyphs along the paths and especially in the cavity of San Servolo transmit the memory of this pilgrimage.
About 300 meters northeast of the historical castle there is the San Servolo cave, the only one underground church in Slovenia. The cave is about 48 meters deep and 50 meters long, and it has two entrances with railings.
The cave is the symbol of San Servolo's legend. In the 3rd century the cave would be used as a shelter by the twelve-years-old Christian named Servulus, who went back to the city after a 21-months hermitage endowed with miraculous powers of healing and exorcism.

Along the Rosandra stream and its tributaries from Sant'Antonio in Bosco-Boršt to Dolina, 32 mills were operating, and they were used by the people of Dolina, but also by the inhabitants of Trieste up to the karst upland. The millers were expert in sculpting the stone to build the wheels, whereas their wives attended to the trade of the flour which was carried to the city and to farther places on the back of a donkey. The technological progress caused the suspension of this activity in the 1970s. Nowadays it is possible to see or grasp the remains of four mills in the area of Bottazzo-Botač, one below Draga and four before the built-up area of Bagnoli Superiore-Gornji Konec.

The word "srenje" defines the communities of locals that autonomously manage, preserve and use the common property. They appeared all over Europe with different names ("Regole" in Venetia, "Comunelle" in Istria, "Allmende" in Switzerland, "Mir" in Russia, "Jus" in the Karst region, Gemeinde in German). They were the completion of the rural villages' organization: the turned over soil was an individual property, the grazing lands and the forests were a common property. They are very important for Dolina's territory, because they could preserve their own territory over the centuries, they improved it when possible and could keep its natural features. If this work was never carried out, today the Val Rosandra-Dolina Glinščice Nature Reserve would have nothing to safeguard.