Grotte di Pastena

On the second day of our orientation trip we began with a series of activities within our advisee groups. I make it a point not to comment on the workings of the school so that is enough said about that. Druing the afternoon we traveled to the province of Frosinone for a visit to the Grotte di Pastena. The three kilometer network of caves was discovered by Carlo Franchetti in 1926 outside the town of Pastena. Approximately 1 kilometer of the caves have been improved with paths, railings and lighting which allow people to explore underground.

The main entrance is clearly a riverbed. There is a gate house and several barriers to keep you out of the caves unless you are accompanied by a guide.

Unfortunately, pictures of the stalactites, bat guano, etc. are not allowed so I stopped after taking this initial shot looking back whence we came.

On the way back to the campground we stopped off for a brief walk through the shopping district. Up on the hillside they have lit up the platform to the Temple of Jupiter. We visited that last year after a half hour of hiking in the brutal sun. You can relive the moment if you look back at earlier posts. Fortunately, we opted out of that activity this year.