This weekend we decided to make a little family tour to celebrate spring that finally seems to be here! We didn't plan anything but it turned out very well... as if we had planned everything carefully! We arrived in Collepardo but decided to visit the town after, to be sure not to miss the opening hours of the many attractions of the area! At first we visited the Collepardo's caves. Just one of the karstic caves is visitable and, according to the guide at the entrance, it has to be very very old. The stalactites and stalagmites create an incredible atmosphere, a little bit like alice's wonderland, so baroque and weird at the same time! There is a second smaller cave connected to this one but it was adopted as a residence by 5 different species of bats. They are still in hibernation, so we could see just one flying around. It probably decided to get up earlier (like those little annoying kids! ;)) In summer it should be all full of bats!
On the same route you find also the Certosa di Trisulti, a magnificent structure built by Pope Innocenzo the third in 1204. We arrived just in time to visit it all before the long lunch break. It is possible to ask the Cistecian monks who live there, to arrange a guided tour for you, but as we were there it was Mass time so we visited it by ourselves. In the same structure there is a very basic but authentic trattoria and we eat there before start our walk to the hermitage in the woods.
That's really a magical place!!! It's name is Santuario delle Cese and it once was a little hermitage in the middle of the forest! The walk down is very pleasant (not the ascent back) even if it was still quite cold and windy (the snow-covered mountains are just a breath away). Once there you can really immagine how though and meditative life could be here, in the middle of nowhere!
After the caves we couldn't miss the great natural well of Antullo but once there... the gates were closed even if it was still opening time. So we decided to climb over the enclosure with kids and everything, to go away like good guys would do! ;)
When you come closer it is quite impressing. Before climbing ehm going away, we met a woman collecting some wood and she told us the legend of this place. It was the day of Saint Anna, a long time ago and on the fields there were farmers working with their horses and ploughs. On That day nobody was allowed to work and lots of people went there to stop the work. The farmer's were in a hurry to finish and didn't want to stop. In the dicussion they swear Anna's name, and they were swallowed by the earth. The woman told us that if you came on Sant'Anna's day you can hear the men, women and horses scream still today.... so, if you have any idea of when this day occurs, you can check out the truthfulness of this story.
On our way home we visited the nice town of Collepardo. It is small and full of history, very typical and with lots of hidden treasures... but we so practical no living human being!
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