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Castelcivita
Office: tel. and fax +39 828 97 55 24 Grottoes office: tel. +39 828 77 23 97 Opening hours:
Amateurish-speleological trip In the summer is possible to take the amateurish-speleological trip, that goes further than the lighted course, to reach the marvelous "Lago Sifone" (Sifone Lake) at about 3000 meters from entry. The Mushrooms festival It occurs during the last weekend of September and costitutes the main event of Castelcivita. On this occasion the town receives, in its lanes and artistic stone portals, thousands of visitors who come from everywhere to taste the typical local dishes based on mushrooms, which abound in the woods near Castelcivita.
Religious Celebrations Madonna di Pompei (3rd sunday of May in c.da Serra) St. Cono (3 June) St. Antonio (13 June) Madonna delle Grazie (2 July) Madonna del Carmine (16 July) Madonna di Costantinopoli (26 August) St. Nicola di Bari (6 December) Also in December in c.da Serra, la Madonna di Pompei Our Favorite Restaurants in CastelcivitaTourist sights in the area - Distances and driving times |
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Acciaroli Nearby sights
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At a height of 487 meters, Castelcivita appears to those who came from the
north as the outpost of great national Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano: a
built-up area placed on a rocky spur, with evocative streets flanked with
picturesque houses which follow one another among stairways and parallel
lanes. The main attractions are the caves which represent one of the major
Italian spelaeology complexes. Little is known about their past: some
mentions go back to the eigh-teenth century, while the first scientific
explorations are dated 1920. It was only in 1929 that the Touring Club
promoted and financed a proper expedition, followed by others, sponsored by
the Italian Spelaeology Institute. The explorations were interrupted by the
war. Finally, in 1962 the first lighting system made it possible to open the
caves to the pubblic who began to arrive in increasing number. In 1991 the
lighting system was renewed in a skilful and scenographic manner wich
contributed to an increase in the aesthetic effect of the stalactites and
stalagmites, creating fascinating effectes along the entire accessible route
(1,700m.). The caves consist of a succession of chambers, shafts, narrow
passages, galleries, that poursue one another, intersecting, overlapping, and
plunging down in terrifying leaps and chasms, wherethe horrifying and the
fantastic alternate in a magic scenography,the result of erosion by
underground water-courses in the presence of carbonatic rocks. The deposits
create original forms that in some cases resemble objects and figures while
in others, although unlike any physical reality,create a breathtaking
spectacle. The Bertarelli cave, the area of the Pipistrelli (Bats), the
Salto (Leap) the Deserto (Desert), the grande Cascata (great Waterfall),
the Orrido (Gorge), the Boegan cave: these are some of the key points of the
visit, with names derived from their discoverers or dictated by their
likeness to reality. But as well as these, the imagination of every visitor
can ascribe different meanings to every one of the underground spaces: the
cave personifies itself, becomes malleable and capable of arousing
consternation, fright, enthusiasm in those who come to explore these marvels
and immerse themselves in a dimension beyond the boundaries of time. No
doubt it is a marvellous spectacle, which cannot be described in few words.
Its beauty can only be verified by personally visiting the caves.
Visiting the caves