Grotta di Sant'Angelo

Useful Information

Location:	Via IV Novembre, 87011 Cassano All’Ionio CS. A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria exit Frascineto-Castrovillari, follow signs to Cassano Allo Ionio. At the city limits turn right. (39.787604, 16.309700)
Open:	Open only by reservation! All year daily 9:30, 11:30, 15, 17. Reservation by phone or email mandatory. Closed 01-JAN, Easter, 24-DEC, 31-DEC. [2025]
Fee:	Adults EUR 12, Children (6-18) EUR 10, Children (0-6) free, Students EUR 10. Groups (6+): Adults EUR 9, School Pupils EUR 5. Groups (11+): Adults EUR 8, School Pupils EUR 5. Groups (16+): Adults EUR 7, School Pupils EUR 5. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave St. Michael Caves
Light:	LED
Dimension:	Grotta Inferiore di Sant'Angelo: L=1,325 m. Grotta Superiore di Sant'Angelo: L=1,005 m. L=3,650 m, A=435 m asl.
Guided tours:	D=1 h.
Photography:	allowed, no flash or tripod
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Fulvio Gasparo (1979): Nota Preliminare sulle Ricerche della Commissione Grotte «E. Boegan» nel Comune di Cascano Allo Jonio (Cosenza), ATTI E MEMORIE della Commiseione Grotte "Eugenio Boegan" Volume XVIII, 1978. online Manuela Catalano, A. Bloise, Domenico Miriello, Carmine Apollaro, Teresa Critelli, Francesco Muto, Enzo Cazzanelli, E. Barrese (2014): The Mineralogical Study of the Grotta Inferiore di Sant'Angelo (Southern Italy) Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. 76. DOI researchgate
Address:	Reservation: Cell: +39-328-808-4284, Cell: +39-333-342-9008. E-mail: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1962	start of archaeological excavations by Professor Santo Tinè.
1964	excavations completed.
1977	start of exploration campaign by the Commissione Grotte "Eugenio Boegan" from Trieste.
1978	start of more archaeological excavations.
1979	speleological exploration completed.
1982	archaeological excavations completed.
1991	Italian Institute of Experimental Archeology commissioned by the Municipality of Cassano allo Ionio to set up a small Antiquarium near the caves.
20-APR-2002	cave opened to the public.
AUG-2016	extended tourist route inaugurated by the Mayor of Cassano All'Ionio Gianni Papasso in the presence of the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage and Tourism, Hon. Dorina Bianchi.

Description

The Grotte di Sant'Angelo is located northwest of the village Cassano al Ionio at the foot of a karstified limestone hill. This is probably the most exceptional non-existing cave we have listed. The point is: it was developed as a shwo cave and opened to the public in 2002. In 2004 when Franz Lindenmayr visited the site it was not simply closed. The whole site was fenced in and was closed for good. The newly erected ticked office stood empty, and some cave entrances where already broken in. The story continued this way for the last 20 years, there were bombastic events, inaugurations, reports about modernizations, but the cave was closed and fenced in. The facebook page was created, the last post is from 2015, ten years ago. They created an official website in 2014 and the last post is again from 2015. Nevertheless, they modernized the trails in 2016, but the cave was gated. And the Google Street View pictures of 2024 still show a site which is fenced in with an orange construction fence. The pavement of the access road is cracked, and the site looks like an abandoned construction site.

This is the only show cave of Calabria. The trail is actually very well developed with stainless steel railings and LED light. However, visit is only possible by reservation and tours are only in Italian. As far as we know there are not even audioguides or a sheet of paper in foreign languages. If you plan to visit the cave make your reservation by the given smartphone numbers or email, WhatsApp is also accepted. Reservation should be at least one full day in advance, and contain the scheduled time, the number of participants, and your smartphone number.

The area west of the village Cassano Allo Ionio is a small karst area named roccione di San Marco. There are numerous karst caves of various sizes, one of them was developed into a show cave several years ago. The caves were inhabited by man since the Middle Neolithic, about 6,000 years ago. Excavations carried out by professor Santo Tinè during the sixties revealed numerous layers with human remains starting in the Middle Neolithic, some 5,500 years ago. It covers the time span from the first farming towns to the Greek colonization during the Bronze Age. The found remains were primarily items of daily use and ceramic vases.

The speleological exploration started more than 10 years later, in 1977. The Commissione Grotte "Eugenio Boegan", a rather famous caving club from Trieste, created a register of caves. They explored and surveyed 16 caves in the area, including the Vucco Ucciardo (Liars Mouth), which is the only cave visible from the village. They found a lot of pottery inside, which were daily use items like storage pots, sieves, and milt pots.

Subsequently, the archaeological excavations were reactivated. Between 1978 and 1982, excavations revealed a Neolithic burial in the cave Pavolella. It was a Neolithic burial of cremation remains.

The two biggest caves in the area, both more than one kilometre long, are Grotta Inferiore di Sant'Angelo (Lower Cave of Saint Michael) and Grotta Superiore di Sant'Angelo (Upper Cave of Saint Michael). They are partly developed as show caves, and during the last year they have become an important tourist draw which brought money and employment to the rural region. These caved were named after St. Michael, which is rather common in southern Italy. However, unlike the other Michael Caves, this one is not a cave church and not located inside a church. It has no history of apparitions of St. Michael.