Buca del Corno

Useful Information

Location:	Via del Corno, 12, 24060 Entratico BG. (45.6943539, 9.8801034)
Open:	APR to SEP Sun, Hol 14-17. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3.50. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=671 m, VR=44 m, A=470 m.
Guided tours:	L=385 m, D=40 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Buca del Corno, Via del Corno, 12, 24060 Entratico BG, Tel: +39-0 Municipality of Entratico (Bg), Tel: +39-035-942021. info@bucadelcorno.it
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

1875	first written description by Abbot Stoppani.
2014	development of the cave as a show cave.

Description

Buca del Corno (Horn Hole) is one of the newest show caves in Italy. The development of the cave was a project which was proposed by the Sebynica Association, a local group of speleologists. The Fondazione Comunità Bergamasca ONLUS, the Municipality of Entratico and the Lions Club Val Calepio and Val Cavallina financed the project. The result is the development of the cave as a show cave with new trails and electric light. At the entrance a barbecue area was created. The visits are guided by the municipality's Volunteer Guide Group and by members of the Sebynica Association. Actually the cave was guided before, the so-called Guide Group started in the 1990s to offer tours, in cooperation with the municipality, but as the cave was not developed this were more like cave trekking tours. The cave is horizontal, and the tours were easy, but helmet and headlamp as well as gum boots were requires.

The cave has been visited by man since prehistoric times. The entrance section was used as a shelter, the cave river provided drinking water. In Roman times it was a sacred place. There were archaeological excavations at the cave.

The cave is not very big, and the size of the passage is moderate, still it is not necessary to stoop. The main passage in a river passage, so there is a small cave river beneath the trail, the reason why the cave is only toured when there is no flood. The cave has several interesting spots, one quite exceptional is the wealth of fossils which were eroded from the rock. It also has interesting forms on the walls like scallops which were created by the erosion of the flowing water. The guided tour includes information of the area, speleology, archaeological discoveries, speleogenesis and cave life.

The cave is located on top of the mountain ridge of Monte Sega (710 m asl), east of Bergamo. Those are the first outskirts of the Alps, limestone hills which protrude from the lowland of the Po river plain, but are not yet Alpine. The limestone is karstified, and there are numerous caves, underground drainage, and karst springs at the foot of the hills. The cave is reached from Entratico in the valley of the Fiume Cerio. The Via Corno leads uphill in serpentines to the pastures on top of the hill.