Near Punta Massullo, where Villa Malaparte stands, is located one of the most elaborate geological complexes on the island. Two caves in one: the White Cave, at sea level, and the Wonderful Cave, in the overhanging part.
The White Cave is named after the color of the tuff that colors light shades the marine cavity. Wide and broad at the entrance, it is narrowing more and more, until reaching a tufa platform in which there are evident signs of the presence of man. Fishermen have known this cave for centuries, which they use as a shelter for boats during the sudden storms (the summer and autumn zephir tails) that fall on the island. The German scientist Kyrle discovered that the bodies of water, which are located inside this cave, have a large percentage of rainwater. At first it was thought of a spring, later it was discovered that it is the continuous dripping of rainwater to create these freshwater lakes.
The Marvelous Cave is an earthly cave. The attribution of its discovery has been at the center of long legal disputes. Well known by the “schiappaiuoli” islanders (men who walked barefoot up the rocks of the island to collect branches and wild herbs), it was explored and studied by two English rockers, J.O. Maud and Ralson Kennedy, in 1901.
Two years later, the writer Heinz Ewers, inventor of horror stories from Capri, climbed up to the cave and described its magnificence in various German magazines. He called it “Wonderful Cave” and, for this discovery, demanded that a percentage of the entrance be paid to him which was refused. It was the engineer Meyer, creator of Via Krupp that, at the beginning of 900, designed the small pier and the staircase to climb to the cave. However, legal problems did not permit the realization of this project until 1927.
Visiting the Grotta Meravigliosa you can retrace the thousand-year geological stratification of the island: limestone, tuff, sandstone of various shades follow in the vaults of this geological wonder. Dozens of large stalactites and stalagmites support the vaults and the soil and the continuous dripping of rainwater has allowed the birth of plant life forms inside the cave.
So, the visit of these “Antri delle Meraviglie” is a must-see in the tour of the island by boat.
by Renato Esposito
