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Discovering hidden Tuscany: grottos and thermal baths

A holiday combining well-being and underground adventures

Caves, sinkholes, springs and blind valleys: it is not the set of a new Italian Gothic film, it’s Tuscany’s unusual landscape that’s waiting to be discovered underground.

This region, which offers countless wonders in the sunlight, also hides fascinating attractions and exciting sites below our feet: 270 kilometres of underground tunnels, with no less than 1,597 natural grottos and stunning karstic landscape.

Antro del Corchia
Antro del Corchia - Credit: CorchiaPark - Levigliani - pagina FB

Begin your journey at Monte Corchia, located along the Apuan Alps, near the source of the River Frigido. It is the most extensive karst complex in Italy, with around 60 kilometres of shafts, galleries and the Paolo Roversi Abyss, whose 1249 metres make it the deepest cave in Italy.

The area’s three main caves are equipped for visiting tourists: don’t miss the Grotta del Vento in the Garfagnana, the Equi Terme Grottos (a real Geo-Archaeo-Adventure Park) in the Lunigiana and the Antro del Corchia in the Versilia. These authentic “geological theatres” will make your vacation truly worthwhile.

The Grotta del Vento, in particular, has three guided itineraries: a level-planed route lasting an hour, rich with chalk deposits; one lasting 2 hours, which includes a deep pit descending towards the underground river; and a third one lasting 3 hours that ascends for 990 m along the walls of an imposing well.

Grotta Giusti, Monsummano Terme
Grotta Giusti, Monsummano Terme - Credit: Grotta Giusti - pagina FB

In the Pistoia area, in Monsummano Terme, Grotta Giusti is the ideal place to indulge in some well-deserved relaxation. The cave, defined as the "eighth wonder of the world" by composer Giuseppe Verdi, is the third largest in Europe and is famous for being home to a natural Turkish bath, divided into three "Dante-esque" caves: the Paradise (24 degrees Celsius), the Purgatory and Hell (34 degrees Celsius). Inside there are thermal therapeutic pools, waterfalls and hydromassages, a wellness centre, mud therapy, inhalation treatments and hydromassages. This is the place to look for to find psycho-physical balance, among the rocks!

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