Dark Evenings return to the Grotta del Vento: experience the thrill of the first explorers
FORNOVOLASCO (LUCCA), ITALY – Following the success of last year’s events, the Dark Evenings return to the Grotta del Vento from Friday 24 July, offering visitors the chance to experience the underground world in a truly unique way and relive the excitement of its earliest explorers.
For one evening, the lighting along the tourist route is switched off and the cave is explored using only carbide lamps and torches—the same equipment that accompanied cavers on their expeditions for decades. With darkness once again taking centre stage, the underground landscape is transformed. Rock formations slowly emerge from the shadows, sounds become more intense, and the cave reveals a completely different character from that experienced during a traditional guided tour.
The Dark Evenings will take place every Friday at 7:00 pm, starting on 24 July, throughout August, with the final events taking place in early September. Advance booking is recommended to help us organise the visits.
The event also offers the perfect excuse to spend an evening in the heart of the Apuan Alps. Before entering the cave, visitors can enjoy the spectacular sunset as it colours the mountain peaks and the lush Turrite di Gallicano valley, creating a magical atmosphere that makes the experience even more memorable.
The Grotta del Vento is one of Europe’s most important show caves, renowned for the extraordinary variety of its underground landscapes and karst formations. Magnificent chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites, deep shafts, underground lakes and water-carved passages tell a geological story stretching back millions of years. During the Dark Evenings, this remarkable natural heritage can be discovered from an entirely new perspective—more authentic, more immersive and closer to the sensations experienced by the cave’s first explorers, when every metre gained revealed another hidden wonder.
This is an experience for anyone who wishes to enjoy the cave not simply as a place to visit, but as an environment to observe, listen to and truly feel, guided by the fascination of complete darkness.
And the summer doesn’t end here. More special events and exclusive evenings are already planned, offering new opportunities to discover the underground world in different and exciting ways.
We’ll be revealing them very soon.
