Second Itinerary


Una piena del fiume sotterraneo

The view of the abyss from the small terrace where the second tour begins is most impressive. The regularity of the rounded walls is interrupted here and there by ridges and spurs caused by erosion, whilst the floor, if one can define a 70 degree gradient as such, has been eroded, in quite recent times, by a small meandering stream.

The path descends directly to the bottom by means of a steep winding staircase, halting only at the "Sala delle Voci" (Hall of Voices) 45 metres further down, a large, oval chamber where the particular wall formation creates very pronounced acoustic effects.

Beyond this room, the roof of the passageway is so low that visitors must stoop, while further along it once again rises, reaching a height of 10 mts. in the "Galleria delle Valli" (Hall of Valleys) where an ascending pathway (the return route) branches off.

Proceeding downwards, having overcome another 10m. drop, visitors enter the "Sala dell'Acheronte" (Hall of the Acheron), practically situated at the base of the karstic system where through contact with schist and limestone, three small subterranean streams unite. The environment is characterised by the continuous presence of water and by the grandiose manifestation of eroded rock formations which in bizarre fashion, cover the ceiling. Silt and ooze which are present almost everywhere in great heaps on the floor, create "clones" reproducing in extraordinary fashion mountains, valleys and channels of water.

The tour continues along the underground river and across a gallery with smooth, rounded walls, terminating in the "Sala del Cupolone" (Hall of the Dome), where the mysterious lago-sifone (siphon-lake) originates. Beyond this, the Acheron River continues flowing towards an as yet undiscovered world.

The return journey follows an arduous pathway, which is built into the jagged walls of a sheer drop and connects the "Galleria delle Valli" (Gallery of the Valleys) with the "Galleria Intermedia" (Intermediate Gallery). The walls of the latter are almost completely covered by countless grey formations, which bring to mind images which do not exactly pertain to an underground environment: we can make out what resemble miniature pine forests; religious processions, underwater vegetation and fungi.