The Grotta della Monaca opens into
the dolomitic limestone of Trias and, by an imposing entrance
that is 600 metres above sea level, it dominates Upper Valley
of the Esaro River.
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The Upper Valley of the Esaro River
seen from the entrance of the cavity. |
The impressive rocky rampart
in which the cave is situated,
seen from the opposite rises. |
From the morphological point of view, the cavity is characterised
by three distinct sectors: a wide entrance gallery, called
the “Pregrotta”; a huge room in median position, the “Sala
dei pipistrelli"; a series of low and narrow final passages,
named the “Cunicoli terminali”. The Pregrotta is a slightly
sloping wide gallery with the floor completely invaded by
a chaotic store of large boulders, which do not occur only
in the tract immediately at the entrance. The Pregrotta after
about 50 metres ends near a passage named “Diaframma” that
introduces the visitors into the successive Sala dei pipistrelli.
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The large boulders that invade the floor
of the Pregrotta. |
The countenance of the "Monaca",
the calcitic concretion that gives the name
to the cavity. |
It is one of the widest hypogean rooms in Calabria so far:
its dimensions are about 60 metres in length and 30 metres
in width. Between the concretionary forms present in this
room there is a singular flowstone, which in the popular fantasy
appeared like a nun, from which the cave toponym derives.
Although this figure is clearly of natural origin, maybe there
are slight artificial adjustments in the part of the face.
Descending in the lowest part of the Sala dei pipistrelli,
the area of the Cunicoli terminali is reached. These are narrow
passages that are over 60 metres long: they become progressively
so narrow that precludes any further attempt to progress.
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English
