Located roughly 70 km from Villa Gioia, considered the most important speleological complex in Italy and in Europe, the Castellana Caves are much appreciated for their vast alabaster concretions, their striking dimensions, and the spectacular scale of their natural tunnels.
Created by underground river erosion for centuries, this fashinating karstic complex of cavities that branch off in to the subsoil for approximately 3 km, were discovered in 1938 by the speleologist Franco Anelli.
Among the colossal stalagmites and stalactites and the spacious caverns with their playful shapes and unexpected colours, the visitors will be completely captured by the amazing and breathtaking view of the Grotta Bianca (White Cave), the Caverna dell’Altare (Cavern of the Altar), the Caverna della Cupola (Cavern of the Cupola), and the Passaggio del Presepio (Nativity Scene Passage), which has a stalagmite shaped like the Virgin Mary called the Madonnina delle Grotte (Little Madonna of the Caves).