Grotta Zinzulusa
| Grotta Zinzulusa
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| Location: | Apulia , Italy | |
| Height : | 0 m slm | |
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Geographic location: |
40 ° 0 '43 " N , 18 ° 25' 50" E | |
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| Discovery: | 1793 | |
| Overall length: | 260 m | |
The front part of the Grotta Zinzulusa is a show cave near the sea , north of the town of Castro in Salento , in Apulia in Italy . The entrance is in a wall that slopes steeply towards the sea.
The cave takes its name from the numerous stalactites and stalagmites that resemble rag dolls made of worn clothes, called "zinzuli" in the Salentine dialect. Behind the wide, high entrance you come to a hundred meter long karst tunnel, which tapers increasingly until it ends in the cathedral, the last room accessible to tourists. From here a downward path leads to the Cocito , the underwater part of the grotto. Inside, in addition to huge stalagmites and mesolithic finds, living fossils that are unique in the world have been found (underground sponges: higginsia ciccaresei ).
Web links
- Giuseppe L. Pesce, Gaetano Ciccarese: Grotta Zinzulusa. January 1, 2006, accessed December 27, 2010 (Italian, English, French).