Legends and myths of Florence. Castellana Grottoes - a natural attraction of Puglia Legends about the caves of Italy

Not far from the city of Alia (province of Palermo) are the Gurfa Caves (Le grotte della Gurfa), created by man in the Bronze Age.

The name "Gurfa" is of Arabic origin and means "room". There are a total of 6 rooms in the cave, carved into the red sandstone rock. The height of the large hall of the cave reaches almost 16 meters, and the domed vault is crowned with a small hole through which light passes inside.

An ancient legend says that the Cretan king Minos, who ended up in Sicily in search of the inventor Daedalus, was buried in the cave. The Sican king Kokal and his daughters, who invited the Cretan king to stay with them, are believed to have had something to do with the murder of Minos. However, danger awaited Minos while visiting - insidious women boiled him in boiling water.

Located in the commune of Alia, Grotte della Gurfa is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Sicily.

We present Anna Casis' interview with Professor Carmelo Montagna about the extraordinary caves of Gurfa. Majestic underground structures carved into the rock, testifying to ancient civilization in Sicily - the desire of scientists and the pride of archaeological tourism in the province of Palermo.

They are called Grotte della Gurfa, but they are not caves, or even granaries or ancient warehouses, at least in their original use. They are certainly of Arab origin in their topography, but there is much doubt about the meaning of their name: pit, "sloping mountain wall" or even "chamber on the upper floors." There are even doubts about who built them and when they were built. However, despite all these doubts, there are people who consider the architecture of the Grotte della Gurfa "on a large scale, imbued with archaic sanctity" for the size of the underground structures. A sanctuary or perhaps even a tomb of King Minos of Crete, who arrived in Sicily to capture Daedalus. The explanation of the art historian Carmelo Montagna, who in his books (“Sulle tracce di Minosse”, “Thòlos e Tridente”, “Il Tesoro di Minos”) tried to reveal the thousand-year-old secrets of these mysterious structures, contains a fascinating and convincing interpretation...

First of all, attention is drawn to the monumentality of this hypogeum, in particular the bell cave, such as the tholos, whose dimensions make it the largest in the Mediterranean...

As soon as I saw the photos of the Bell CaveGrotte della Gurfa is almost in the center of Sicily, so I immediately decided to go there. Because the bell caves are the most important objects our research on archaeoacoustics. We found the Gurfa caves quite easily and were able to get through the open door into the amfilade of underground halls on the second floor, and also look at the bell cave from there. However, individual entrances to the halls of the first floor, including the bell cave itself, were locked. When we were already desperate to get into them, a group of local young Italians with girls arrived and opened both doors. After that we entered them.

Bell CaveGrotte della Gurfa is very similar to the bell caves we previously explored in

“You know, there’s a cave nearby with a hall so huge that St. Peter’s Basilica could easily fit in it?” - fellow travelers asked me during my last visit to Trieste - Italian city, which is located on the border with Slovenia.

I had never heard of the cave, which has the obvious name Grotta Gigante, that is, “Giant Cave,” so I immediately decided to go there in order to find out on the spot what it was.

In the photo: entrance to Big hall Grotta Gigante

Grotta Gigante is located on the limestone Karst plateau near the highway connecting Italy with Slovenia and Croatia. Among Russian travelers given natural tourist site are not particularly popular, moreover, there is not even information about Grotta Gigante in Russian version Wikipedia, which is extremely sad, because this place is very interesting.

This concerns not only the impressive size of Grotta Gigante, because of which it was even included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest cave in the world, equipped for visiting tourist groups, that is, with stairs, lighting and other attributes for a safe descent inside, but and the history of the cave, no matter how strange this phrase may seem to you.

In the photo: thickets of stalactites in the Giant Cave

The giant cave was discovered by speleologists in 1840, and already in 1905 work began on improving the descent in order to make this natural site accessible to tourists. In addition to speleologists, archaeologists also carried out research in the cave, and their findings are the most curious, because at the bottom of the cave they discovered the remains of two prehistoric people, fragments of ancient ceramics, as well as the bones of animals that once lived in Eurasia, but became extinct during the last Ice Age period.

An inspection of Grotta Gigante begins with a detailed excursion into history and archeology, because the descent into the cave is carried out once an hour, so while you are waiting for your turn, there is a decent amount of time left to study the exhibition of the local museum, located directly above the cave. By the way, this approach is more than justified; it turns out that you first study the theory, and then move on to the practical part, that is, to a walk through the cave and unrestrained photography of stalactites and stalagmites.

In the photo: stalagmites in the cave resemble mushrooms

The fact that in prehistoric times panthers, hairy rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses and other animals “lived” on the territory of Eurasia, the modern halo of which is limited to Africa, Asia, South and North America, I read in the book “Guns, Germs and Steel,” but it’s one thing to read about it, and quite another to see the physical evidence with your own eyes.

In the museum, opened next to the cave, a whole hall is dedicated to prehistoric herbivores and predators that did not survive the last Ice Age, as well as close acquaintance with hungry Cro-Magnons. Here you can see the bones of European panthers, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, bison, hyenas and a European lion discovered in the cave.

Pictured: European panther bones discovered in Giant Cave

At the center of the exhibition is the reconstructed skeleton of a cave bear; these animals became extinct around 29,000 BC. Cave bears were approximately the size of their polar relatives, and their diet consisted of berries, roots and other components of the vegetarian diet. The exact reason for the disappearance of cave bears has not been fully established, but historians suggest that in this case, the Ice Age was greatly helped by people who were actively hunting in Europe during this period.

In the photo: skeleton of a cave bear in the museum at the Giant Cave

By the way, about people. While exploring the cave, archaeologists discovered fragments of ceramics and pottery, as well as arrowheads dating back to the Bronze Age, that is, to the period from 4000 to 1500 BC. There is a unanimous opinion as to whether ancient people lived in the Giant Cave on a permanent basis, or whether traces prehistoric civilization just sometimes fell inside the Grotta Gigante, the scientists never came, but, it must be said, if giant cave and was used by the most ancient representatives of homo sapiens as a permanent place of residence, then understanding their choice today is as easy as shelling pears.

In the photo: samples of ceramics and pottery from the Bronze Age discovered
in the Giant Cave

The fact is that the temperature inside the cave invariably remains at 11 degrees, and the dimensions of the main hall clearly indicate that an entire tribe could comfortably settle here: the length of the cave is 167.70 meters, and the width is 76.30 meters.

In the photo: a giant stalagmite and the Great Hall of the cave

The descent to a depth of 98.50 meters is carried out using stairs, the construction of which was completed in 1908, at which time not only scientists, but also curious tourists began to be allowed into the cave. By the way, the staircases of the cave rest on railway tracks - they were once donated to Grotta Gigante by the Austrian railways who helped refine the cave.

Once inside the Gigante Grotto, you involuntarily catch yourself thinking that this is exactly what the main hall in the palace of the dwarf king should look like, since the illumination of the cave allows you to see in detail the columns of stalagmites rushing upward and the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

The growth of the natural bas-reliefs of the cave directly depends on the amount of precipitation that falls in this part of Italy: in dry periods, the growth rate of stalactites and stalagmites does not exceed one millimeter per thirty years, but in rainy years the underground columns grow, one might say, by leaps and bounds - one millimeter in three years.

Another interesting point is the color of the cave walls, which directly depends on the chemical composition of the rock. In this regard, Grotta Gigante is lucky, she is multi-colored. The gray color of some walls indicates that the area is dominated by limestone. rock, nearby you can see snow-white walls - they contain pure calcite, and the red and orange walls of the cave indicate that in these places the rock contains calcium carbonate and iron oxide.

Here and there in the cave, an attentive tourist may notice plants, which, by the way, is absolutely contrary to the laws of nature. The fact is that any plant needs light to grow, and in caves of this type there is complete darkness both day and night, but after an artificial lighting system was created inside Grotto Gigante, ferns, moss and algae immediately began to grow here. So human activity does not always lead to the disappearance of plants and animals; sometimes it stimulates reverse processes.

Although the cave is essentially a single space, it is usually divided into two halls: the Big and the Altar. The second hall in this case is just minus the first floor of the Great Hall, but it is not the bottom of the cave. In fact, through one of the tunnels of the Altar Hall you can go down to a depth of 250 meters.

In the photo: a stalagmite in the form of a tower in Grotta Gigante

True, completely in the dungeon of Krasta ordinary tourists they are not allowed, but scientists from the University of Trieste often come down here, here they measure the level of rise of the underground Timavo River, which was formed millions of years ago by Grotta Gigante.

But guests are allowed to walk along the artificial gallery, and in the finale they are invited to climb to the Belvedere observation deck, from where they have a view of the entire cave. By the way, it was here in 1840 that a group of researchers led by engineer Anton Friedrich Lindner descended and discovered the Giant Cave. By the way, scientists climbed underground on ropes for a reason, they were looking for fresh water in the depths of the Karst massif.

In the photo: Great Hall of the Giant Cave

Lastly, something funny. One of the stalagmites of the cave is very reminiscent of the statue of the Madonna in its shape, so on the eve of Christmas, figurines of the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus in a manger and the Magi are installed near it. If we remember that archaeologists discovered Bronze Age ceramics in Grotta Gigante, then the fact that there was a place for Christmas presepios in the cave can be seen as a kind of “continuity of generations.” Although, I’ll be honest, such fruits human civilization in the Giant Cave look very alien; some copies of prehistoric arrowheads would be much more appropriate here.

Cost of visit: 12 euros (adult ticket), 9 euros - student ticket, schoolchildren - 8 euros, children from 3 to five years old - 1 euro, children under two years old - free.

Opening hours: from October to March from 10.00 to 16.00, from April to September from 10.00 to 18.00

Address: Società Alpina delle Giulie – Sezione di Trieste del C.A.I. Indirizzo: Via Donota, 2
34121 – Trieste (TS) C.F.: 80016540322 Partita I.V.A.: 00243240322
COORDINATE BANCARIE – codice IBAN: IT84I0892802200010000010249

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Yulia Malkova- Yulia Malkova - founder of the website project. Former editor-in-chief of the elle.ru Internet project and editor-in-chief of the cosmo.ru website. I talk about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers. If you are a representative of hotels or a tourism office, but we do not know each other, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

Not far from the town (not even a town, but a commune - only a little over two thousand inhabitants) Toirano are the famous karst caves of Grotte di Toirano. Having never been to such caves before, I can say with full responsibility that these underground beauties are worth a look. To do this, you will have to leave the highway at Pietra Ligure and go to Toirano - follow the signs, otherwise, if the hour is uneven, the navigator will take you to countryside and will suggest driving along a dirt road about two meters wide and bordered on both sides by stone walls. This is exactly the story that happened to me - and I must say, it was not the most difficult route, which we encountered here: we even had to walk backwards along a crooked, narrow street, holding our breath.


If you look closely, you can see giant drawings on this rock - also a kind of local landmark

In general, beware of narrow streets and roads, there are a lot of them in Italy! Actually, almost everything.

One way or another, you will get to the caves without any special adventures - and you will find that you will not be allowed into the caves alone, so you will have to wait for a guide. The excursions are only in Italian, but no one bothers you to look around, and in the second half of the route, the guide at the end of the group quietly told us all sorts of interesting things in English.


Rosemary, blown by the fresh mountain wind and washed with morning dew

In total, we had to wait almost an hour for the excursion - and during this hour we managed to breathe in plenty of fresh mountain air (yes, get ready that you will have to walk uphill) and pick rosemary and thyme for dinner. In general, I would issue a special ban on complaining about problems in those countries where food grows itself, without outside coercion.

Now about what you will encounter in the caves themselves.



Inside the caves it’s pure surreal, as if you’re on another planet, in the lair of strangers

Firstly, these are various underground beauties: stalactites, stalagmites, all sorts of strange salt growths, covered with a thin film of water, which is why they seem to be made of plastic, although to the touch they are purely stone. Underground lakes in which I tried to spot eyeless and pale underground fish, but in vain. Stone flowers are something like corals that grew out of the walls due to the high humidity, thanks to which the salt deposits settled in such an unusual way. And everything like that.


One of the most picturesque stalagmites of the Toirano cave


There are practically no smooth surfaces - everything is covered in amazing salt build-ups

Secondly, there are traces of the long-standing presence here of cavemen and our smaller brothers - cave bears, who were three meters tall. If from the first there are only traces and handprints left (they are carefully outlined in white for greater visibility), then a whole cemetery reminds of the visits of cave bears: bears came here to hibernate, but some never woke up, so there are bear bones and skulls in the cave now in abundance.


Stalactites hang thoughtfully from the ceiling...


...and stone flowers bloomed whimsically on the walls

Unfortunately, photography was not allowed most of the way, and how many photographs can you take in the pitch darkness, which is only diffused by the uncertain light of an electric torch? Nevertheless, we still managed to film something, but it’s better to see everything with your own eyes. If you're in Liguria, don't pass by.



Who would raise their hand to say that mountains are not beautiful in themselves?..

This is not the last note about Italy. In the final part I will tell you a little about the town where we stayed.

Italy can be called the country of caves. The caves of Italy amaze the imagination with their beauty and grandeur. With more than 10,000 officially registered caves, Italy is one of the largest countries in the world where caves are located not only in the mountains, but also in sea grottoes. In addition, many of the Italian caves are the very first in the world in any category: the largest, the deepest, with the largest stalactites and stalagmites.

Those that are open to visitors can usually be seen only on excursions, and preliminary applications registration is not always necessary. Special illuminated walkways have been built inside most of these caves, and some include a series of stairs. The temperature inside the cave can be cold, so it is worth bringing warm clothes. In addition, it is recommended that you wear sturdy, comfortable walking shoes for your tour.

Caves of Italy review

Frasassi Caves

The Grotte di Frasassi are among the most impressive caves in Italy. The excursion here is quite long, lasting 1 1/4 hours. During the excursion, tourists explore several halls with stalactites and stalagmites. The area of ​​this unique natural object so large that Milan Cathedral (the largest Gothic cathedral in the world) could fit inside it. The Frasassi cave complex is located in central Italy, in the Marche region, 65 kilometers from the Italian port city of Ancona.

Grotta Gigante

Grotto Gigante, a giant cave that has been open to visitors for over a hundred years. This grotto was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 1995 as the largest tourist cave in the world. The huge main hall of the cave can be reached by climbing the tunnel stairs up the mountain. There are many formations inside, including the Ruggiero Column, 12 meters high. The tour lasts only about one hour. The facility is located approximately 10 kilometers from the small Italian seaport of Trieste (can be reached by bus from the city center), in northeastern Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.

Underground caves of Italy Corchia

Monte Corchia, called the empty mountain, has one of the largest cave systems in Europe. The cave labyrinths are located in the Apuan Alps in the northern part of Tuscany, 16 kilometers from the resort town of Forte dei Marmi (Versilia coast), beloved by rich Russians. Two-hour tourist excursion covers almost two kilometers out of 70 kilometers underground labyrinths inside Corchia. It is believed that here are the most beautiful and spectacular stalactites and stalagmites in the world. The small underground lakes here are also very beautiful.

Monte Cucco Cave

Grotta di Monte Cucco is one of the deepest cave systems in the world. Total length The system corresponds to 20 km, but only an 800-meter section is open to tourists. Caves of Italy very popular among tourists. In general, the tour includes a demonstration of three massive caves: Cattedrale, Sala Margherita, and Sala del Becco. The entrance to the cave is located near the very peak of the mountain, so to visit the underground kingdom you will first need to overcome a 27-meter height along an almost vertical staircase. Visitors can choose from three difficulty levels, two of which require early booking. Grotta di Monte Cucco is located in Umbria, in the Monte Cucco Park region.

Grotte di Stiffe

The river runs right through the Grotte di Stiffe, and inside there is beautiful waterfall. The best time to admire this beauty is in the spring. The cave also has many stalactites and stalagmites. The hour-long excursion covers 700 meters, and the stairs here are quite easy to navigate. Grotta di Stiffe is located in central Italy, in the Abruzzo region, approximately 17 kilometers southeast of L'Aquila.

Caves of Italy Grotte Di Castellana

Grotte Di Castellana is large complex caves with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites in the limestone plateau. One of the rooms open to visitors has a natural skylight. There is another unusual white cave here, which is called Grotta Bianca. Visitors can choose a tour of the caves with a short or long route. Partial tours cover only one kilometer and last 50 minutes. While full tour covers a route of three kilometers, lasting 2 hours. Grotte Di Castellana is located in southeastern Italy, the Puglia region, 11 km from the sea and 17 km north of Alberobello.

Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto Grotta Azzurra, the most famous of Italy's sea caves, is the main attraction on the island of Capri. The refraction of sunlight in the cave creates an iridescent blue light in the water. The grotto has been in use since prehistoric times and was a favorite swimming pool of the Romans. During the reign of Emperor Tiberius, he had his own villas on the island. This grotto can only be visited by taking a boat tour.

Neptune's Grotto

Neptune's Grotte, or Neptune's Cave, is located just above sea level at the foot of a cliff, near Alghero on the island of Sardinia. The grotto is not always accessible for visiting, since at times when the sea is not calm, excursions are not conducted here. You can get to the grotto by taking a boat from Alghero or from the parking lot along a staircase of 654 steps carved into the rock. Visitors are guided along an illuminated path so they can see the many stalactites and stalagmites as well as the salt water lakes present in the cave.

Sassi or Cave in Matera

Matera, a small town in southern Italy, in the Basilicata region, has a fascinating area of ​​caves built in a ravine. This amazing place has been inhabited by people for hundreds of years. Several rock churches are open to the public, and there are reproductions of typical cave houses that can be visited. Also, restaurants and hotels where you can relax were even made in the repaired caves.

If you are tired of the beaches of Italy, then you might like sea caves, where you can also swim and cool off on hot days. Italy has several spectacular sea caves that can be found all along the coast. From the popular Blue Grotto on the island of Capri, to the vast Palinuro cave system, these are some of the world's stunning natural wonders. So, 10 sea caves of Italy in the photo feed.

Blue Grotto, Capri

One of the secret and natural wonders of the world. It is called blue because the light is reflected upward from a clear blue sea, illuminating the cave with a magical blue light. Today it is a popular attraction, and the cave was known to the Romans, as Roman structures and statues have been found in this area. It is interesting that the grotto has only one entrance from the sea, so you can only get to this beautiful blue cave by boat. The length of the cave is 56 meters and the width is 30 meters.


Grotto in Castro
Especially beautiful karst cave at sea, under special protection. The limestone topography of the area gives the cave a unique and subtle eco-system above and below sea level, and the colors of the area are breathtaking.


Blue Grotto, Taormina
On the island of Belle, close to Taormina in Sicily, there is another blue grotto, very popular with local residents, however, it is still not open to tourists like the blue grotto in Capri.

Neptune's Grotto, Alghero
Discovered in the 18th century by local fishermen, Neptune's Grotto is part of a cave system that stretches for 4 km, including the underwater Nereo Cave, which is visited every year by thousands of scuba divers. Neptune's Grotto is accessible on foot and is an illuminated cave with spectacular stalactites, stalagmite formations and of course the amazing sea.

Grotto dello Poetry, Roca Vecchia, Salento
Legend has it that a beautiful princess loved to swim in the beneficial waters of the cave, and her beauty was so magnificent that news quickly spread throughout Puglia. Legions of poets from all over southern Italy flocked to the area to follow the news, gathering in this place to write poems inspired by its natural beauty. The large karst cave behind the cliff in Roca is the place to get some inspiration. The walls are covered with inscriptions in ancient Greek and Latin.

Blue Grotto Marino, Cala Gonone, Sardinia
This place is very popular among tourists due to its accessibility and vastness. blue water everywhere, you can walk along the constructed bridges from hall to hall, enjoying the cool air and water. You will get a lot of impressions from this place.

Sea caves of Cape Gargano, Puglia
This is a whole complex of caves: “Cave of Two Eyes”, “Cave of Tomatoes”, “Smugglers’ Cave” and many other different caves. Each of the caves in this complex has something special, something that distinguishes them from each other. Maybe it's the splendor of the flowers. This is a whole area of ​​unidentified treasures, natural wonders, where the caves are some of the most beautiful in all of Italy.

Sea caves of Palinuro
Tyrrhenian Sea at Cape Palinuro, Salerno is home to the most extensive system caves in Italy. Thousands of diving enthusiasts flock to the huge underwater caves for thrilling snorkeling, but the above-water caves are just as exciting.

Emerald Grotto, Sardinia
A small but very pretty Sardinian grotto, the cave is illuminated by the emerald green of the waters around the island. If you are in those parts, then you should definitely visit this place, but the visit can be very short, because a large number of tourists come here, and they all want to visit the cave.

Blue Grotto on Cavoli Beach, Elba Island
On the idyllic, quiet beach of Cavoli on the island of Elba lies the Blue Grotto. The cave is located at a distance of 600 meters from sandy shore, can be reached by jet ski or small boat. Not the most exciting grotto on the list, but the good thing about it is that there are few tourists here and it has an air of mystery about it!

 

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