The Wind Cave

The Wind Cave (in the local dialect Buca del Vento) is located in the Apuan Alps mountain range, under Mount Pania in Vergemoli in the municipality of Fabbriche di Vergemoli, in the province of Lucca (Tuscany).

It is one of the most important tourist caves in Europe. It has three tourist routes for the duration of 1, 2, or 3 hours and two adventure routes. The itinerary of time runs through galleries characterized by the great abundance of concretions, all "alive" and of different colors. The two-hour itinerary includes the previous route and continues down 75 meters until it reaches the deepest part of the cave which is crossed by a small underground stream.

The three-hour itinerary includes first routes and the ascent of a perfectly vertical well about 80 meters high. The paths are furnished with concrete paths, a handrail and an electrical system. The two adventure trails, very exciting but traveled alone, do not suffer from vertigo, they run through a large well equipped with ladders and ropes for the safety, the return is via a thrilling descent into the void.

The cave has an overall height difference of about 120 meters and is about 4500 long. The only known entrance is a 640 m above sea level, but surely there are others around 1400 m beyond the strong wind that characterizes it. The wind is due to the temperature difference between inside and outside.

The internal temperature is constant throughout the year is 10.7 ° C. In summer, it is longer than the outside, so the indoor air is denser than heavier than the outside. The opposite happens in winter. A wind speed of over 40 km / h was recorded at the tourist entrance.

Only in 1961 the speleologists of the Bolognese Speleological Group, arriving in a period of severe drought, succeeded in overcoming the siphon and the beginning of the first 600 meters of the tunnel. Since then various explorations have followed, bringing the overall development to around 4500 meters.