Grotte di Castellana

One of the main factors of tourism boom in the metropolitan area of Bari is surely represented by the Caves of Castellana which lie in the homonymous municipality of Castellana Grotte. Tens of thousands of visitors come, each year, from all over the world, to admire this geo-site less than twenty kilometres from Monopoli and about forty kilometres from regional capital. The reason is the sight offered by the concretions of these karst caves extending for three kilometres of length at more than 100 metres of depth. Stalactites, stalagmites, castings, crystals and a thousand other calcareous evolutions characterize this subterranean landscape explored in 1938, for the first time, by the speleologist Franco Anelli after whom the museum contiguous with the entrance is named. Actually, the landscape of Castellana is in the making: there is the scientific awareness of the presence of other caves and cavities in addition to those discovered, so maybe one day it will be possible to go much deeper rather than nowadays. What lies there is enough to let tourists, who often match this visit to that of Alberobello, enchanted.

Indeed, both the localities belong to the Murgia, sub-region between Apulia and Basilicata, to which also the beautiful city of Matera (Basilicata), European Capital of Culture 2019, belongs. For further information about the history, the access times and the way the visits take place check the official website: www.grottedicastellana.it.