Castellana-Grotte

Castellana is considered a door through which it’s possible to admire the subsurface treasures of Puglia at a depth of about 70 mt. The karst complex of Castellana is one of the biggest in Italy and definitely the most beautiful: a scenary of an incomparable beauty, gift from nature caught and brought out by the man.
 
In the year Thousand the urban centre was developed around a few huts later destroyed, rebuilt and populated at the end of the XII Century. Under the feud of S. Benedetto, Castellana was for long time disputed between the Bishop of Conversano and the local clergy, but civilly the jurisdiction was exercised by the Princes of Taranto, Acquaviva d’Aragona and finally by the counts of Conversano. In 1950 Castellana became Castellana Grotte thanks to the enchanting discovery.
 
The caves can be visited in two different itineraries: one for about 1 km and the other about 3 km among caves and chasms called with mythological and fantastical names. From the “Grave” to the “Grotta Nera”, after the “Cavernone della Civetta” crossing the “Corridoio del Serpente”, the “Caverna del Precipizio” and the “Piccolo Paradiso” is reachable the bright and shining “Grotta Bianca”, considered the most beautiful in the world.
Still closed to the visitors a concentration of works shaped by the flowing water in the depth of the earth, stalactites and stalagmites, subterranean lakes: a fantastic world that only nature could create.