The Pastena Caves are located in the Parco naturale regionale Monti Ausoni e Lago di Fondi. They date back to the Mesozoic era, between eighty and fifty million years ago, and are the result of the incessant action of water erosion. In the ten caves you can admire stalactites, stalagmites and columns with singular shapes as well as ponds and waterfalls.
On the southern slope of the Ernici Mountains, we find the Collepardo Caves, also known as the Bambocci (puppets) Caves for the particular shapes of its rocks, and the Caves of Regina Margherita, in memory of the first queen of Italy visiting the site in 1904. Among the most impressive caves, the Big Stage, the Petrified Forest and the Throne Cave or Queen’s Cave. The suggestive new lighting project enhance the natural light of the site, helping to understand and respect natural resources and biodiversity. The project has been carried on by the lighting designer Chiara Carucci, from OkiDoki Architects, and the stages of the visit are described by the voice of Donatella Bianchi, President of WWF Italy, journalist, writer and TV presenter.
About 1 km from Collepardo, on the slopes of the mountains La Monna and Rotonaria, in the Ernici complex, we find the Pozzo d’Antullo. It is a huge karst chasm originated from the sinking of a cave. 60 meters deep and about 300 meters wide. Unique in Europe for its size, it represents a rarity from an environmental point of view, with trees up to 20 meters high. In the past it was used for grazing sheep, which were lowered with a rope along the vertical walls in early spring and left unattended until the beginning of winter.
For info and to book a guided tour:
grottepastenacollepardo.it