Grotta dei Dossi

Cave of Dossi aka Grotta superiore dei Dossi - Dossi Higher Cave

Useful Information

Location:	In Dossi, west of Villanova Mondovì, 16 ESE of Cuneo. Motorway A6 Torino-Savona, exit Mondovì, follow signs to Villanova Mondovì, at town turn right. Signposted. (44.341051, 7.742275)
Open:	All year Sun 15-18. AUG and school holidays daily 15-18. [2002]
Fee:	Adults EUR 6, Reduced EUR 5. [2002]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=910 m, A=626 m asl, VR=21 m.
Guided tours:	D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotta dei Dossi, Località Dossi, 12089 Villanova Mondovì (CN), Tel: +39-0174-42646, +39-0333-9790007, +39-0339-7966644. E-mail:
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

1797	discovered by an hunter, name unknown.
1892	developed, electric light and opened to the public.
1917	installation more or less ruined.
1966	reconstruction of show cave, reopened.

Description

Grotta dei Dossi is a show cave with a long history. Opened at the end of the 19th century, it was the first cave with electric light in Italy. The electricity was produced by a generator. But soon forgotten, the cave was already ruined at the time of World War I. Long time the cave was closed, until it was reopened in the 1960s.

The more fragile speleothems were removed, stolen or destroyed in the long history of the cave, but some huge stalactites, stalagmites and rimstone pools are still there. But the cave is today famous for its diverse and fragile cave life.