ancient river descended to lower levels, which in
Alberobello
and
Polignano
a Mare.
With
a very
the presence of rock fractures widened into large
unusual activity for those who are the clichés of
caves or narrowed in corridors or tunnels, with a few
the Italian people, and in particular that of the
lateral branches, for a total length of 3,200 m and
South, in a few months some problems were solved,
a depth of 70 m, up to the charm of the White Cave
including the very significant one of creating an
terminal, discovered precisely by Vito.
elevator and stairs to overcome the 60 m altitude of the Grave. Already in 1939 it opened the path of
In addition to being by far the largest caves in
the caves to the first visitors, reaching a total of
all of Puglia, Castellana offered unique alabaster
up to 300 thousand visitors per year. In 82 years
concretions. Once the waters had ceased to excavate
of activity, the caves have been the set of films,
the underground ducts, salt and tunnels remained
theatrical pieces, and have brought tens of millions
exposed for millions of years to the dripping of
of tourists to visit the wonders of the underground
rainwater rich in calcium carbonate and mineral salts,
world. They soon became one of the essential bases
deposited everywhere in the form of stalactites,
for the development of tourism in Puglia and the town
stalagmites, settlers, lace, castings, trays and
of Castellana, which exactly 70 years ago, in 1950,
anything that a fervent fantasy can imagine. The
changed its name to Castellana Grotte.
concretions presented different colors, from red to brown and black, depending on the presence of
From the Caves I come and to the caves through the
mineral substances, up to the blaze of the pure
grotesque I return, with a journey that took me
calcite white of the final cave. Some extraordinary
physically very far, but also a journey that is all
eccentric concretions showed an anarchic growth,
done from a desk chair and through a computer screen.
not
by
A journey that is only seemingly immobile and which
physical law, but lateral and in all directions,
is one of the many ways of describing what could
due to crystallographic reasons or to the persistent
really mean The Paradox of Stillness.
from
top
to
bottom
as
normally
happens
dominant air currents.
The enthusiasm of the discovery convinced the local authorities, at all levels, about the opportunity to equip this cave for tourism: Castellana possessed an invaluable treasure underground, capable of changing the economic and employment prospects of the Murge, at the gates of the suggestive Itria Valley, between 35