The Cave of King Tiberius is located in Riolo Terme within the Vena del Gesso Romagnola Park. Known for its very high archaeological-testimonial value, as one of the most interesting vestiges of a long human presence for cultural purposes linked to the presence of healthy waters, the cavity has been known in Italian and international archaeological literature since the mid-nineteenth century. In the approximately 140 years since its discovery, numerous studies have gradually highlighted the close interconnection between its environmental characteristics and the interest of human groups. Starting from the late Copper Age and up to the Roman imperial age, its chambers were used for different purposes such as religious ceremonies, but also for settlement and burial uses. Among the numerous traces linked to the presence of man, the cave constitutes by far one of the most interesting and significant historical-cultural testimonies.
Guided tours with the Speleological Guides of the Vena del Gesso Romagnola Park, in collaboration with La Nottola APS-ASD.
How to Visit:
Reservation required
SUMMER HOURS
- SATURDAY, SUNDAY and HOLIDAYS visits at 9.30, 11.30, 14.30 and 16.30
- personalized days and times for schools and organized groups, throughout the year
The excursion is guided and lasts 90′ (fern path and historical/tourist route in the cave)
€10.00 (€8.00 reduced price under 12 years old)
The visit lasts between 60 to 90 minutes and is suitable for all ages. Comfortable clothing is recommended, trekking shoes or shoes with rubber soles, a light waterproof jacket (inside the cave the temperature is around 12 °C all year round). Helmets are provided.
CONTACT INFO
La Nottola Aps-Asd
tel. 329 679 1490
retiberio@nottola.org
Services
· parking
· guided tours
· dogs allowed
· school field trips
The Cave of King Tiberius has an overall length of over 6 kilometers and a height difference of 223 meters, on multiple levels. It drains the waters of the Monte Tondo area and the underground streams, which have generated a vast underground network of tunnels, wells and salt deposits, after an external path of a few hundred meters, flows into the Senio stream.
The extraction activity has intercepted the caves in several places, partially destroying them and altering the underground path of the waters.
The Cave of King Tiberius experienced the first speleological explorations at the beginning of the last century (G.B. De Gasperi, G.B. Mornig). The explorations continued after the Second World War by the Faenza Speleological Group. A turning point is due to the activity of the Speleo GAM Mezzano which, since 1990, has explored and discovered over 5 kilometers of new caves. The rare fern Cheilanthes persica grows on the walls around the cave, at the western limit of the distribution area, which goes from Monte Mauro to Monte Tondo.
At the entrance to the cave there are still some specimens of another fern, Adantum capillus-veneris, while the very rare Asplenium sagittatum has been extinct for over 50 years. The system of caves and galleries of the Gessi di Monte Tondo is home to 15 species of bats, with important breeding or winter colonies of miniopteran, greater bat, Blyth’s bat and euryal horseshoe.
The cave is also home to an interesting invertebrate fauna, with eight troglobitic and eutroglophilic (i.e. exclusively or predominantly cave-dwelling) species, including the small shrimp Niphargus longicaudatus group, the isopod Androniscus dentiger, two species of mites endemic to King Tiberius (Medioppia melisi and Ramusella caporiacci) and the beautiful grasshopper Dolchopoda Laetitiae.
In the Area
The Cave of King Tiberius is located within the beautiful Parco della Vena del Gesso Romagnola. From the Sillaro valley to the Lamone valley, the hills of Romagna are crossed by a spectacular silvery-grey ridge that is easily recognizable at first sight, which abruptly interrupts the gentle hilly profiles, giving a unique appearance to the landscape: it is precisely the Vena del Gesso Romagnola.
Photo Credits: 3.bp.blogspot.com, www.termediriolo.it, parioloterme.racine.ra.it, www.parchiromagna.it
