The Arch Caves - Bellegra

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Submitted by traduttore4 on Thu, 04/11/2010 - 15:28

Bellegra can boast an important natural heritage in the Arch Caves (Le Grotte dell’Arco), a site of European importance that can be visited from the month of April, with guided tours on offer made easy and pleasant by a walkway (also suitable for people with disabilities).
The caves lie in a natural, unspoilt environment just a few kilometres from the town centre. There is also a small children’s play area.

The typical result of a Karstic depression is the Pantano valley, where there used to be a lake at the beginning of the 20th Century (1911), which dried up following excessive agricultural usage. This small basin and an underground stream have given rise to the “Arch Caves”, almost 1 km in length, named after the natural stone arch that stands at the entrance to the caves.

These are the only underground caves in the Province of Roma, and are one of the most important Karstic phenomena in the Lazio region because of their length and the width of their large caverns.

As said, they are known as the “Arch Caves” because around 30 metres from their entrance is a large natural stone arch. The morphological development of this Bellegra “gem” is characterised by a tunnel that is 940 metres long, through most of which flows an offshoot of a Karst spring, which emerges at the end of the cave inside.
The underground stream used to drive a water mill, referred to in local dialect as “Mola”.
The Caves can be divided into three distinct parts: 1. Entrance; 1. Middle section; 3. End point. The beginning part is made up of a first muddy tunnel of 190 metres in length and from 7 to 10 metres high, and a second tunnel running around 80 metres and about 12 to 15 metres high, which can be easily traversed thanks to the walkways. The middle section is made up of a tunnel 150 metres long, with an average height of 20 metres and 3 caverns: the Cyclopean room, the Titan room and the room of the duomo. The final tract is made up of the “altarino” tunnel and the terminal tunnel though both of these can only be visited by fully equipped potholers.
In 1999 two groups of wall paintings were discovered (a group of red figures and one with a black figure) along with paleontological remains, which enhance the scientific importance of the caves.
The Arch Caves contain a wealth of stalactites, stalagmites, swallow-holes, chambers and the opportunity to see cave fauna and particularly the chiropters, amphibians as well as the micro and meso-fauna typical of these environments. They are also home to a colony of bats, which are protected by the Lazio Region because they are an unusual species.

Dove si trova

Indirizzo:

Località Maiuro le Cese, 00030 Bellegra RM, Italia

Sito internet:

Comune Bellegra

Informazioni

Orari:

Saturday and Sunday during the summer. For visits on other days, a request must be made at the local municipality.

Galleria fotografica