The Blue Grotto (Capri – Italy)

November 26, 2010

The Blue Grotto (in Italian: Grotta Azzurra) is a noted sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, Italy. Sunlight, passing through an underwater cavity and shining through the seawater, creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern.

Inside The Blue Grotto Capri Italy The Blue Grotto (Capri   Italy)

The grotto was known by the Romans, as proved by the antique “Status Quo”, were found in the Grotto. This discovery, the remains of an ancient landing place and the work on an underground tunnel, create an image of a natural cavern adorned by statues. The Acqua Grotto outsideCapri Italy 300x198 The Blue Grotto (Capri   Italy)The grotto was known to the locals as “Gradola”, after the nearby landing place of Gradola, but it was avoided because it was said to be inhabited by witches and monsters. German writer August Kopisch and his friend Ernst Fries described in 1826 the beauty of the Blue Grotto, and they both believed that they had discovered a previously unknown natural wonder while swimming in the area.

Capri 300x210 The Blue Grotto (Capri   Italy)In more recent decades, the Blue Grotto has become the emblem of the island of Capri, and is one of several sea caves, worldwide, that flooded with its remarkable brilliant blue or emerald light. The quality and nature of the color in each cave is determined by the unique lighting conditions in that particular cave. The Blue Grotto light though comes from two sources. One is a small hole in the cave wall, precisely at the waterline, that is perhaps a meter and half in diameter.Isle of Capri 300x226 The Blue Grotto (Capri   Italy) The second source of light is a second hole, with a surface area about ten times as large as the first, which lies directly below the entranceway, separated from it by a bar of rock between one and two meters thick. Much less light, per square meter, is able to enter through the lower opening, but its large size ensures that it is, in practice, the primary source of light.

The Blue Grotto can be reached by motorboat from the port of Marina Grande, by bus from Anacapri, or by taxi. Because there is no headroom, visitors must lie on their backs in the bottom of the rowboats as they clear the entranceway. Once inside, the grotto is quite roomy and it is possible to sit upright, until conveyed back out through the same tiny hole.

The grotto cannot be visited during adverse weather conditions, as the entrance is barely large enough to accommodate the small rowboats, and waves can cause the gunwales of the small boats to be smacked upwards against the roof of of the opening. As well, bright sunlight is necessary to create enough light to cause the interior of the cave to be lit up in the brilliant blue color for which it is so famous.

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