Top 10 Caves around Cappella Maggiore

Grotta carsica "Il Fornel": Suggestive sinkhole immersed in the beech forest, once used by local communities as a real natural "ice house" thanks to the low temperatures maintained inside.

Its history intertwines nature, folklore, and wartime events: 1. The formation and legend of "will-o'-the-wisps" The name Bus de la Lum derives from a mysterious phenomenon that for centuries fueled legends and popular tales. The folklore: Shepherds and locals told of strange little flames or bluish glows that danced above the cave entrance during summer nights. Popular belief attributed these lights to the presence of witches (eàne or anguane) or restless spirits. The scientific explanation: In reality, the cave had been used since time immemorial to dispose of the carcasses of animals that died on the plateau's farms. The decomposition of organic matter generated methane and hydrogen phosphide gases which, upon contact with air, produced small and harmless will-o'-the-wisps. 2. The events of the Second World War Between 1943 and 1945, the Cansiglio Plain was a strategic stronghold of the Italian Resistance, garrisoned by partisans of the "Garibaldi" Brigade (and other local formations) against the Nazi-Fascist occupying forces. During the harshest phases of the conflict and in the dramatic months of roundups and executions at the end of the war, the Bus de la Lum was used as a natural mass grave. The bodies of German soldiers, fascists, and Republicans captured in combat or roundups, as well as civilians accused of collaborationism or espionage, were thrown into the chasm. In the post-war period, amidst explorations and speleological recoveries, the cavity was the subject of heated historiographical and political debates regarding the precise number and identities of the people who fell into the well. 3. The site today Today the Bus de la Lum is recognized as a place of memory. The entrance to the abyss is protected and fenced for safety reasons, flanked by a large metal cross and a plaque in memory of all the nameless fallen.

The Cansiglio Forest hides a myriad of sinkholes, pits, and swallow holes of all sizes, due to the karst morphology of the territory: the rain dissolves the limestone rock, slowly but inexorably forming these natural chasms and fissures on the ground. The Bus de la Lum is an abyss characterized by a single large vertical entrance shaft 180m high, which then develops into a very large and articulated underground complex. The depth of the shaft is best appreciated out of season, because in summer the lush vegetation tends to partially obscure the view. According to ancient beliefs, it is the dwelling of the Anguane or Anduane, fierce and evil witches, toothless, with long rusty nails instead of hair and sharp fangs, who kidnapped and ate children! They gathered at the bottom of the cave, lighting fires, whose glows rose to the surface, visible at night to the shepherds of the area: hence the name 'Buco della Luce' (Hole of Light). In reality, the legend has a grain of truth: on hot summer nights, will-o'-the-wisps could indeed be formed by the decomposing carcasses of livestock dead from illness, which it was customary to throw into the Buso. During World War II, the cavity was sadly used by partisans as a foiba, to dispose of the bodies of fascists and nazis, but also of civilians: over the years, several bodies and bones have been found during explorations. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_de_la_Lum

The name probably derives from "lume" or flame, due to the luminescence that would have been seen on summer nights above the cavity, produced by the gases generated by the putrefaction of animal carcasses thrown into the well. The cavity was formed by karst, or by the dissolution of the rock by water. According to legend, it is inhabited by the Anguane, very ugly fairies, with nails instead of hair, and long fangs instead of teeth. During the day they went to wash clothes at Lake Santa Croce, then wandered around in search of wood, food and children to roast. At night, they lit a small fire, whose light, spotted by shepherds, gives the cavity its name

The Caglieron caves are located in the municipality of Fregona, province of Treviso, precisely in the locality of Breda. It is a series of cavities created partly by natural erosion and partly by human action.

Directions for visiting the Caglieron Caves. https://www.prolocofregona.it/grotte-del-caglieron/

Suggestive corner of meditation and prayer, which suddenly appears in the middle of the dense and silent forest, along the steep hiking path that leads to Mount Pizzoc, under the Agnelezza ('of the lambs') meadows: a small natural cave, a figurine of the Madonna and an altar. The first Madonnina was placed in 1963; the current one in 1973. In the early 1990s the site was refurbished and equipped with the small altar: since then two masses have been celebrated a year, always at 10.30am; at the opening of the hiking season (the last Sunday in April) and at its closing (the last Sunday in October). https://www.lazione.it/Vittoriese/FREGONA-messa-all-Agnelezza-per-l-interno-delle-attivita-escursioniche

One of several caves on the tour.