The Blue Grotto or Blue Cave ( Croatian: ''Modra špilja''), is a flooded

sea cave A sea cave, is also known as a littoral cave, a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as re ...

located in a small bay called Balun (''Ball'' in the local dialect), on the east side of the island of

Biševo Biševo (, Chakavian dialect, Chakavian: Bisovo) is a Croatia, Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It is situated in the middle of the Dalmatian archipelago, 5 km south-west of the Island of Vis. Its area is and it has a population of 15 ...

and about from

Komiža Komiža () is a Croatian coastal town lying on the western coast of the Vis (island), island of Vis in the central part of the Adriatic Sea. Komiža is located at the foot of the Hum hill (587 m). Town has a Mediterranean climate. The economy i ...

, in the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. It is situated in the central

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n archipelago, 5 km south-west of the island of Vis. The grotto is one of the best known natural beauty spots on the Adriatic and a popular

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

because of the glowing blue light that appears at certain times of day.

The grotto

First described and painted by Baron Eugen von Ransonet, the cave was originally accessible only by diving as it had one natural entrance below the sea level. Based on his suggestion, an artificial entrance large enough for small boats was built in 1884. The natural entrance to the cave, located on its southern side, is said to resemble a

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

on the ceiling of a grotto. It is through this submarine-like opening on the ceiling of the cave that sunlight gets in and creates an iridescent blue glowing effect all around the cave. As well, a stone bar, connecting two walls of the cave, is clearly visible just below the waterline, both in above-water photographs and in underwater photos. Depending on the season, the ideal moment to visit the cave is between 11 AM and 12 noon. At this time of day the sunlight reflects through the water coming from the white floor of the cave and bathes the grotto in aquamarine light, while objects in the water appear to be silver.Steve Davey, Marc Schlossman
''Unforgettable Islands to Escape to Before You Die''
pg. 110, Firefly Books (2007), The Blue Grotto (

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

: ''Grotta Azzurra'') on the island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

is also famous for this type of phenomenon. The cave was formed by the wave action of the sea, as sea water eroded the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock of which the whole island of Biševo is composed. The cave itself is 24

meters The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

long, 10–12 metres deep and up to 15 metres high, while the entrance to it measures 1.5 metres high and 2.5 metres wide. The cave receives more than 10,000 tourist visits every year, and tourist boats often include a visit to another similar cave on the island, the Zelena špilja (English: The Green Grotto), which is bigger in size and appears to be of an emerald-green tone due to a similar effect.

References

External links

Modra Špilja
at Show Caves of the World

at Dalmacija.net
Blue Cave Bisevo Island Croatia HD - 720p
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Travel guide for visiting Blue Cave
at zentravelcroatia.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Grotto (Bisevo) Caves of Croatia Sea caves Show caves in Croatia Grottoes Landforms of Split-Dalmatia County

The grotto

See also

References

External links