Top 20 Caves in Grosseto

The Via Cava di San Rocco is one of the most impressive Etruscan paths in the area. The trail is entirely dug into the tuff, with vertical walls reaching up to 20 meters high, hosting lush vegetation of ferns and mosses. The route connects the Lente river valley with the plateau above. Along the ascent, you will encounter ancient water channeling systems and stairs carved into the rock. Once you reach the upper end, you arrive at the panoramic area of San Rocco, from which you can enjoy the most iconic view of the settlement of Sorano and the Orsini Fortress. The ground can be damp and slippery due to the cool microclimate of the walls.

Through a very narrow, high gorge (can be damp in spring), you finally reach this oratory via steps.

The exhibition grounds are definitely worth a visit and can be easily combined with a circular hike from Sovana.

You can also visit the excavations on a circular hike from Sorana. The €7.00 is definitely worth it for this very interesting site.

Along the Vie Cave of Vitozza we can admire the caves that have been divided into three types: mixed-use caves (as a dwelling and stable); stables (recognizable by the presence of mangers, troughs and fences); caves for residential use (present especially on the south-west side, more sheltered and better exposed to the sun). The latter are characterized by jars for grain, wells for collecting water and chimneys. The first evidence dates back to the 11th century, when numerous castles were built throughout the area. At that time Vitozza must have been part of a large fiefdom that included 15 castles among which we remember Sorano, Pitigliano, Farnese, Mezzano, etc. (Guiniccesca land). The fiefdom must have had considerable strategic importance since thanks to the fortifications it was possible to control the natural access routes to the sea.

The area of Vitozza, near San Quirico, is one of the most important medieval rock settlements in Italy that developed on a tuff spur above the Lente valley. The settlement, already existing in the 12th century, was definitively abandoned around the 15th century due to wars and depredations. Traveling along the main dirt road you can admire the remains of fortifications, churches and also numerous caves (more than two hundred) that were used as stables, homes and places of work.

The rupestrian (cave) oratory is located at the top of the San Sebastiano via cava and consists of two irregular rooms, the walls of the chambers were engraved with many Latin crosses, including one on a small mountain that probably represents Golgotha. The oratory was almost certainly realized by using one of the many existing archaic tombs in the upper part of the via Cava, many of which are still visible. In fact, it was common for the monks and Christian hermits of the Middle Ages to take advantage of the remote location of these environments to reach the small places of worship suitable for prayer and meditation. From the various openings in the oratory you can see the wall of the via Cava and the remains of some Etruscan tombs looted in ancient times.

The Tomb of the Mermaid, one of the first monuments in the Etruscan necropolis of Sovana to be subjected to detailed scientific analysis, was discovered by the Englishman S. J. Ainsley and his fellow traveller George Dennis in 1843. The recess, decorated with a blind arcade, would have housed an effigy of the deceased in a half-reclined position, as if attending a banquet in the underworld, while outside stood two demons guarding the entrance to Hades, a man and a woman. The eardrum above the lintel is filled with another of the many monsters that populated the Etruscan underworld, a Scilla - and not a Siren or a Mermaid, as was first thought - holding up the droppings of a shipwreck (on which the soul of the deceased travelled from this place), the coils of her forked tail intertwined around two winged figures. The burial chamber below is very small and probably only housed the burial vault containing the ashes of Vel Nulina, (son of) Vel, as inscribed in the niche. This carved tomb dates to the late 3rd and early 2C BC. At the time of its discovery, the tomb was described as having a large vertical crack running down the left side, which became progressively worse until 1999 when the corner section fell away. This has now been repaired. In fixing the bedrock to prevent further fractures and sorting the broken fragments in 2003, archaeologists have discovered two new sculpted tombs. One is of the "semi-dado" type, of which only the lower section survives, while the other - although in a poor state of repair - has two chambers consisting of a square base section with a cylindrical one above. To this second tomb belongs the fragment with the sculpted female figure currently placed to the left of the Siren. This tomb dates from the late 3rd century AD.