Castellana Grotte: Underground Karst and Apulian Culture

Castellana Grotte combines the Grotte di Castellana with insights into Apulian culture and local history. The Grotte di Castellana are an underground karst complex in the municipality of Castellana Grotte in the southeastern Murge area of Apulia. Their corridors, passages, and caves extend for 3,348 metres at a depth of around 70 metres and reach a maximum depth of 122 metres. Their spatial extent goes beyond individual cave chambers. The grotto therefore occupies a distinctly different space from the routes through the town and countryside.

The Grotto and Its Tours

Two different tours are offered for visits to the Grotte di Castellana. A visit lasts around two hours. For planning the day, the approximately two-hour visit can be scheduled as a separate time block alongside a museum visit, the church, and routes around the town.

Museum, Speleology and Astronomy

The Franco Anelli Museum opened on 23 January 2000 and is named after the speleologist Franco Anelli, who discovered and explored the Castellana caves. The museum houses the Apulian Documentation Centre for Speleology, a specialist library for speleology, a specialised newspaper library, and a photographic archive. The library and archive holdings supplement the documentation centre with specialist, newspaper-related, and photographic materials on speleology. Within the Grotte di Castellana complex, the cave, speleological documentation, and astronomical topics come together.

The Osservatorio Astronomico Sirio is also located in the Franco Anelli Speleological Museum within the Grotte di Castellana complex. It offers activities in public outreach, education, and research in astronomy.

Church, Routes and Destinations Nearby

Local history is also reflected in specific buildings: the Chiesa di San Leone Magno is the oldest church in Castellana Grotte and dates from 1200. The urban and rural routes around Castellana Grotte can be explored on foot or by bicycle. They lead through the urban and rural surroundings of Castellana Grotte and form the above-ground counterpart to the underground visit to the grotto. At the church, the focus is on architectural history; on the routes, it is on moving through town and countryside.

In the immediate vicinity of Castellana are Torre Nuova, a historic site, and La Specchia grande, a monument. Grotte di Castellana, a cave, is also located nearby. In the area around Castellana are Castiglione, an ancient site, as well as the Civic Museum, a museum, and Grotta del Trullo, a cave. In the wider regional area are Zoosafari Fasanolandia, a zoo, and Spiaggia Marina Grande, a beach.

Le Fanove in Castellana Grotte

During Le Fanove, hundreds of fires burn in the historic centre, the built-up area, and the countryside of Castellana-Grotte.

More Destinations in the Region

For further travel planning, you can also include Bari, Valenzano, Bitonto, Putignano, Corato, Triggianello, Capurso and Minervino Murge.

For the overarching travel overview: Bari.