Italy > Angel's caves Pertosa

Angel's caves Pertosa

The Grotte dell'Angelo in Pertosa, located at about 70 Km from Salerno, make their way through 263 meters of altitude along the east side of the Alburnums chain of mountains, on the hydrographical left of the Tanagro river and to the northern extremity of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park (Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano).

The initial part, flooded by the waters of the Negro submerged river, can be navigated bn a small barge which, by advancing slowly in the bowels of the earth, leads from’ the votive chapel dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael, located at the entrance of the cave, to a sort of underground landing place from which three different parallel ramifications wind-up.

The most northern area houses an evocative tourist itinerary of approximately eight hundred meters characterized by succeeding wide cavities adorned with imposing groups of stalactites and stalagmites and extraordinary concretionary morphologies which covers the ground almost completely.

The median and southern ramification represent instead some hypogean areas with a more speleological appearance, although also in the southern branch (The Source Branch: Ramo della Sorgente) there is are a short way opened to the public.

The speleological Pertosa complex extends itself through a total length of approximately 3,000 meters, whose origins go back to approximately 35 million years ago and in it, man's presence is ceaseless since the age of the stone.

A remarkable amount of findings (ceramics, stone, bone and metal manufactures) has been recovered as a result of the first excavations carried out in the cave cavity towards the end of the 1800's. Moreover, on account of the specific conservation conditions in a humid environment, some wooden constructions were recovered, such as rests of footbridges and pile dwellings suspended on the water courses.

Their naturalistic wonders, high speleological interest as well as the aspects linked to the acquaintance of the recent Italic preistoria, show that the "Grotte dell'Angelo", in Pertosa, is one of the most important site in the entire peninsula.