The Pastena Caves (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Grotte di Pastena'') are a

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

system located in the municipality of

Pastena Pastena is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Geography Pastena borders the following municipalities: Castro dei Volsci, Falvate ...

, in the

province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Overview

The caves were discovered in 1926 by Carlo Franchetti and were opened for tourism one year later. They belong to the "Consorzio Grotte Pastena e

Collepardo Collepardo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome and about north of Frosinone. History The presence of ancient polygonal walls ("Pelasgic Walls") testifies the human p ...

" . The site, situated 4.5 km out of the town of Pastena, on the road to

Castro dei Volsci Castro dei Volsci ( Ciocaro: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 4,702 inhabitants in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Castro dei Volsci borders the followin ...

(close to the ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era (1922–1943) as ...

'' of Casanova-Cavatelle and Collevento), is divided into 2 sections: the "active" inferior and the "fossile" superior. The second one is so named due to the fact that the process of dripping (from

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

s to

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

s) has not been active in several millennia.

Cinema

A scene of ''

Fantozzi va in pensione ''Fantozzi va in pensione'' ("''Fantozzi Retires''") is a 1988 Italian comedy film directed by Neri Parenti. It is the sixth chapter in the Fantozzi film series of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio. Plot The ...

'' (

Neri Parenti Neri Parenti (born 26 April 1950, in Florence) is an Italian film director and writer. He is known for comedy films, including the series starring Paolo Villaggio playing the character Ugo Fantozzi, and a later series of '' cinepanettoni'' - zany ...

, 1988, with

Paolo Villaggio Paolo Villaggio (; 30 December 1932 – 3 July 2017) was an Italian actor, voice actor, writer, director and comedian. He is noted for the characters he created with paradoxical and grotesque characteristics: Professor Kranz, the ultra-timid G ...

), was filmed in the caves, even if in the fiction it was in

Postojna Cave Postojna Cave ( sl, Postojnska jama; german: Adelsberger Grotte; it, Grotte di Postumia) is a long karst cave system near Postojna, southwestern Slovenia. It is the second-longest cave system in the country (following the Migovec System) as wel ...

References

External links

Official website
{{in lang, it, en

Landforms of Lazio

Province of Frosinone Tourist attractions in Lazio

Overview

Cinema

See also

References

External links