Grotta Zinzulusa

Grotta Zinzulusa is the most precious natural treasure that Castro possesses. Visited by 100,000 tourists a year, it is one of the most important karst sites in the world.

Originated in the Pilocene, probably due to marine erosion, the cave is surrounded by other wonderful karst phenomena, such as: Grotta Romanelli (rich in Paleolithic finds), Grotta Palombara (famous for the nesting of doves) and the Blue Grotto.

It is a real treasure, preserving many testimonies from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Roman times, now kept in the museum of Maglie, as well as fossils of various animals such as hippos, bears, deer, cats and birds.

Due to the great variety of animal and aquatic species that live there, and to the fact that geological research is still ongoing in part of the cave, the Karst Waters Institute (or KWI) has included the Grotta Zinzulusa in the list of 10 karst at greatest risk, to which it is therefore necessary to guarantee sufficient protection.

The cave has also a strong importance on a cultural level. In 1968, some scenes of Carmelo Bene's film, "Nostra Signora dei Turchi", were shot there. Instead, the poet Armando Perotti (1865-1924) dedicated some rhymes to it that remained famous: “Dormi nel tuo mistero o Zinzulusa! Noi lo tentammo questo tuo mistero con la religion di chi sospetta ch'oltre la realtà cominci il vero”.

History of Grotta Zinzulusa

The first mention of the cave is found in the writings of the bishop of Castro, Antonio Francesco del Duca, who in a letter of 1793 gives a detailed description of the site. However, the first studies only began 150 years later, in 1950, and it was opened to the public in 1957.

In more recent times it has been discovered that there are other non-visitable basins that extend the explored cavities of the cave up to two hundred and fifty meters and where new species of aquatic fauna hitherto unknown have been discovered.

The legend

Popular tradition tells that once, near the place, lived the Baron of Castro, a character as rich as cruel and evil, who for his wickedness left his wife to die of grief and had the poor daughter dressed only in rags.

One day, however, a good fairy appeared in front of the child and gave her a wonderful dress, tearing the old and worn one she was wearing. The rags (in dialect “zinzuli”) flew pushed by the wind until they lay on the walls of the cave, where they petrified. From that moment, the cave was called Zinzulusa.

The Baron, on the other hand, was thrown by the fairy into the depths of the waters below the cave, and where he lay down, they emerged from the seabed of the infernal waters, creating the small lake called Cocito; the crustaceans that witnessed this event were blinded forever.

The little girl married a rich and good prince, and her life changed forever.

The origin of the name

On the origin of its name there are various hypotheses: according to some it derives from the events recalled by the legend, according to others, however, from the Greek and Arabic name of a tree that, once, was very widespread in the places: the Giuggiolo (called Zinzinusa) .

A last theory, the most acclaimed, argues that the name derives from the numerous stalactites hanging from the vault of the entrance, similar to the shreds of a worn-out dress, called in the local dialect "zinzuli".

Grotta Zinzulusa, how to get there

The cave is located along the Salento coast between Castro (LE) and Santa Cesarea (LE), about 20 km from Otranto.

It can be reached either by sea starting with a boat from the port of Castro Marina or by land, directly from the center of Castro. In this case, you can leave the car in the paid parking lot and reach the “Zinzulusa square” where you can buy the ticket for the guided tour which lasts about one hour. Due to its difficult paths, you need a guide to visit it.

A very suggestive walkway nestled between the rock and the sea leads to the entrance to the cave: a huge mouth that gives the sensation of entering the bowels of the Earth.

Grotta Zinzulusa

The cave extends for about 160 meters from the entrance and consists of three parts:

Going beyond a large staircase about eight meters high, you enter the CONCA, a cave with an elliptical base that opens towards the longest stretch of the Zinzulusa, known as CORRIDOIO DELLE MARAVIGLIE.

A long corridor crossed by a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, which shine in the half-light thanks to the salt cover that covers them. Some of them have been given fancy names, such as: the Baldacchino or stone pulpit, the Nativity scene, the Tower of Pisa and the Waterfall.

Along the corridor there is a small lake, of very clear fresh water mixed with sea water infiltrations called “TRABOCCHETTO”.

The second part consists of the CRYPT (also known as the DUOMO), a cave dating back to the Cretaceous period, once a refuge for hundreds of bats.

In the mid-twentieth century, a group of workers cleaned the cave 25 meters high and covered for 5.7 meters with guano and used this to create a passage inside it and to write, indelibly, their names on the rocky walls.

The third part consists of the submerged part of the cave: an underground lake called “COCITO”.

Its waters are characterized by a stratification: in the lower part they are hot and brackish while on the surface they are sweet and cold.

A group of underwater speleologists plunged into the waters of the pond and continued diving for another 200 meters, hoping to find an air bubble to re-emerge.

However, only a cave, 15 meters high, and totally full of water, plus other tunnels that it was not possible to go through, was found.

Inside, large stalagmites have been found on the floor, which denote a period of emergence, living fossils unique in the world including hypogeum Higghinsiaciccaresi sponges and a particular blind shrimp.

Furthermore, in this very particular ecosystem, lives a white crab, the Thyphlocaris salentina, the last extant variety of a species extinct more than 200,000 years ago.

The show also continues outside the Grotta Zinzulusa, where the deep blue sea is framed by a high rocky cliff and right here is a seawater swimming pool overlooking the Adriatic!

A must-see stop and a fairytale sunset!