Caves

The Carsism is a phenomenon that features in depth the mountains of the Park, in great measure constituted by carbonate rocks, and in particular on Majella where there are more than 100 caves.
The rainwater and the snow dissolution easily penetrate the calcareous rocks and moving in the subsoil, throughout the ages, enlarge the faults, dig galleries, caves and tunnels, thanks to their chemical and mechanical action; on the surface the water flowing lends enchanting carsic landscapes embellished with dolinas, swallowers and carted fields.

The same phenomenon that causes the erosion of rocky pile reveals itself to be constructive, giving us wonderful alabastrine concretions (mainly stalactites and stalagmites) that decorate the faces of most beautiful caves in this zone. Among the carsic cavities, the most celebrated one is the “Grotta del Cavallone” (Big Horse Cave), also known as “Grotta della Figlia di Iorio” (Iorio’s Daughter Cave): it opens at about 1450 meters in the “Vallone di Taranta” (Taranta’s Gorge) and it has a growth of 1300 meters. Very peculiar is the “Grotta Nera” (Black Cave) with “latte di monte” (mountain milk): a soft concretion, in the genesis of which some bacteria also concur.

There are many other caves, full of historical evidences of the prehistorical and paleontological era: the “Grotta degli Orsi Volanti” (The Flying Bears Cave) and the “Grotta del Colle” (Hill Cave), both located near the village of Rapino, the “Grotta Caprara” close to Lama and the “Grotta dei Piccioni” (Pigeons Cave) in the Orta valley.
Despite of common views, there are many life-forms in the underworld. Plants can live only at the entrance of the caves or at least where they can catch glimmers of light. In fact they are also known as “sciophilous plants” because of their living in dimly lit environments. Since they generally grow in damp environments they can be found in the carsic cavities (caves can reach 100% of humidity). Among these kind of plants there are some types of ferns such as the Maidenhair and the Dog Tongue, flowered plants such as the Majellense Aquilegia and the Neapolitan Campanula. In the end we can find mosses and lichens while in most inner zones grow just algae and fungi. Caves and rock cavities can be chosen as fixed abode by some animals while certain mammals such as foxes, beech martens, wolves, bears and nocturnal raptors choose them as haunts.

Animals that live in these dark places are not provided with a well developed visual apparatus, moreover their colours are often very faint or not present at all. The cave fauna features mainly invertebrates (arachnids, orthopterans, coleopters, lepidopters), whereas their most representative species are bats. Park Authority is now carrying out researches about species living there, presently amounting to 13. These are very important species, since 50% of the Italian ones are threatened with extinction. This animal is an extraordinary natural insecticide as it can catch until 2000 bugs a night. Hence preserving it and its habitat is an important task, saving not only the underworld, but age-old woods and rural building heritage too.