Caves in Ciociaria

PASTENA CAVES
Lying at the bottom of a small karst valley, Pastena caves are considered as a huge swallow hole of waters, whose underground course is its early form (they extend for 880 m along the fossil branch and for 2,217 m along the active one, which is also crossed by an underground river). The rocks date from the mesozoic era and are between eighty and fifty million years old.

Extremely captivating are the Wonder Hall, the Weeping Willow Hall and the Mount Calvary Hall, so called because of a rock and mud hill on which some stalagmites look like three crosses, just as on Mount Calvary.

COLLEPARDO CAVES AND ANTULLO WELL
Located at some 2 km from the old town, Collepardo Caves are also known as 'Queen Margherita's Caves', in memory of the visit made here by the queen on April 13th, 1904. Their average depth is around 140 m; along the visiting itinerary in the Bambocci Cave, called in this way because of some forms looking like human figures, it is possible to admire the peculiar effect of stalactites and stalagmites created by the waters' dripping through the centuries.

The D'Antullo Well, a rare natural phenomenon, is a large karst chasm shaped like a cone with the lower circle larger than the upper one. Its width is around 300 m with an average depth of 60 m. The bottom, covered by a lush vegetation is probably linked with the Caves through a complex system of underground passages.

Texts and photos courtesy of A.P.T. di Frosinone