In the heart of the Salento, between Castro and Santa Cesarea Terme, there is one natural cave which is a real gem. Zinzulusa cave, this is his name, is between ten caves most important in the world. In 1999, the Karst Waters Institute (KWI) included it among the 10 most vulnerable karst systems in the world, which is why the site is protected. For its beauty, but also (and above all) for its biodiversity.
Zinzulusa cave, history and legends
Natural coastal cave, the Zinzulusa cave belongs to the genus of anchillian lakes (term that derives from the Greek ankhialos, near the sea). Its name refers to the dialect term zinzuli, rags, and the fact that karst formations hang from its ceiling as if they were hanging rags. What is the history of the site? It is a very ancient story: it seems that it was formed even in the period of Pliocene, between five and two million years ago, although the first to mention it was Antonio Francesco del Duca, bishop of Castro, in a letter of 1793. Open to the public since 1957, gout receives about 100 thousand tourists a year in its initial 150 meters (the only accessible).
Not just history: the Zinzulusa cave is also the subject of a fascinating one legend. In fact, it is said that the Baron of Castro lived near the place, very rich and wicked, who made his wife die of pain and who dressed his daughter only in rags (preferring to accumulate wealth instead of buying her clothes). One day, a fairy showed herself to that child always alone and sad. He gave her a splendid dress, and broke hers into a thousand pieces rags that settled on the walls of the cave until they petrified. Hence the name of Grotta Zinzulusa. The Baron was instead thrown into the water below, creating a hellish water hole on the bottom (today's Cocito lake).
How to visit the cave
The Zinzulusa cave can be reached walking, from the center of Castro, or by climbing on aboat at the port of Castro Marina. Open all year round, access times depend on the period (in summer the site can be accessed from 9.30 am to 19.30 pm, and the ticket costs 6 euro for adults and 3 for children). The only accessible area are the first 150 meters of the cave: all the rest, due to the partial floods, is closed to the public but is home to biodiversity.
The cave entrance is filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Walking through the "corridor of wonders" you reach a lake of crystalline water, nicknamed "Trabocchetto". The crypt, also called the Duomo, has smooth walls up to 25 meters high, once home to hundreds of bats. The bottom, which houses the legendary Cocito, is the farthest part of the Zinzulusa cave that can be explored.
Source photograph in evidence taken from Wikipedia - credit Shaw - CC BY-SA 3.0
