Grotta Naturale Amenano

Useful Information

Location:	Piazza Currò, 3, 95121 Catania CT. Catania Underground Tour: in front of the ruins of the Castle "Ursino". (37.500997, 15.086127)
Open:	All year daily 10-5. Catania Underground Tour: Summer Sat, Sun 17:30. [2024]
Fee:	free. Guided Tour: Adults EUR 2. Catania Underground Tour: Adults EUR 20, Children (0-11) free. [2024]
Classification:	lava cave Water Supply
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=10 min. Guided Tour: D=10 min. Catania Underground Tour: D=2.5 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotta Naturale Amenano, Piazza Currò, 3, 95121 Catania CT, Italy, Tel: +39-3474034082. A Putia Dell'Ostello, Piazza Currò, 3, 95121 Catania CT, +39-09572-33010. Ass. Cult. e Nat. Etna 'Ngeniousa, Via Mollica 8, 95021 Acicastello, Catania.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1669	the most devastating eruption of Etna in historical times reached Catania and covered the 36 canals.
1693	reconstruction of the canal creates its current

Description

Grotta Naturale Amenano which is also known as Grotta dell'Amenano is a small river cave right below the city center of Catania, the second-largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. The site is quite exceptional, some would say weird. First, the city is built on volcanic rock from the nearby Etna volcano, so this river cave is not a karst cave. The underground river called Amenàno river flows through a lava cave, which is quite exceptional. Actually the natural cave is not natural at all, it is an ancient canal, an aqueduct, which was covered by a lava flow during an eruption. We were at a loss how to classify this site, as we normally would classify it as artificial, a water supply system. But they insist that it is a natural cave, which is obviously also true, as it was formed by the eruption of the volcano. It's similar to a Lava Mold, as the lava flow was disturbed by the canal.

The source of the Amenàno river is somewhere between the villages Pedara and Nicolosi, but the source is unknown, which is another weird thing. It once flowed as a river through Catania to the sea. Over time canals were built, and the river flowed through the city split up in 36 canals. The river is mentioned by Ovid in his book Metamorphoses (book XV) because it sometimes dried up, but also caused floods after heavy rains. And it is mentioned by Strabo in his fifth book of the Rerun Geographcarum. It was also known as Judicello, because it crossed the Jewish quarter of Catania, where it was used for leather tanning and other things.

There is no scientific proof, but according to legend, the eruption of the Etna in 252 BC destroyed the city and covered the canals with lava. Other sources say that the Amenano River supplied water to the entire city of Catania until 1669 when the most devastating eruption of Etna in historical times reached Catania. Only seven of the 36 canals were still open, but the river now flows through those canals underground. Today there are only five places in the city, where the water of the river can be seen. The most obvious is the Amenàno Fountain on Cathedral Square, which was built in 1867. The statue of a young man is the personification of the river. A second spot is the ancient Roman bath, which is located beneath the Cathedral of Sant'Agata. One room of this bath is accessible below the floor of the cathedral, and the water of the river flows through the chamber. The third spot is the Greco-Roman Theatre of Catania in the Via Vittorio Emanuels, only a few steps from Piazza Duomo. The water of the river floods the semicircular floor of the theatre. The fourth is actually a canal, which is not underground, in Gardino Pacini park at the monument of the composer Giovanni Pacini. And the fifth is Grotta Naturale Amenano.

The water canal is two levels below the surface, in the cellar of a restaurant and bar called A Putia Dell'Ostello. That's the reason why the cave is actually freely accessible during the open hours of this restaurant for guests. Walk through the ground-floor restaurant, at the end a staircase leads down to the basement, and from here another staircase leads down to a lower basement. The chamber is rather small, but it contains about half a dozen tables of the restaurant. And an iron railing offers a view into the underground canal. And as we heard, there are also guided visits offered by the restaurant, which cost € 2 and take 10 minutes. Ask at the bar.

There are guided tours which are offered regularly, called Catania Sotterranea (Underground Catania), which include a visit to the Grotta Naturale Amenano. They take up to three hours and cost € 20, and include visits to numerous underground sites which are normally not accessible. The guide is typically an archaeologist or historian, the tours are organized by the Ass. Cult. e Nat. Etna 'Ngeniousa. It's best to book in advance on getyourguide.com. There are also Le Vie dei Tesori, a sort of open monument days, when simultaneously Historic Monuments, which are usually closed, can be visited with a single ticket.