Borgio Verezzi Cave

A few minutes away from the sea, in Borgio Verezzi, there are the Caves, one of the most beautiful tourist sites in Western Liguria. After their discovery in 1933 and exploration in the 1950s, they were inaugurated on June 29th, 1970 on the day of the patronal feast of St. Peter.

The tourist route, which today reaches 800 meters, has undergone considerable changes over time, with the opening of some splendid rooms where you can admire the undeniable peculiarities of this splendid naturalistic jewel.

The caves have a constant temperature of 16 °C – 60.8 °F, the relative rate of air humidity is, on average, around 95% – 98%.

The access tunnel, which is located at approx. 36 meters above the sea level, leads along a short corridor in the First Room, and, progressively descends to the Castle Room one of the lowest points of the tourist cave located, in the middle of the path, at approx. 10 metres above sea level.

The caves were formed, thanks to the karst phenomenon, in the limestone-dolomitic rock called “Dolomia di San Pietro ai Monti”, calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.

The Borgio Verezzi Caves are, among other things, one of the very few examples in Italy of caves that are still managed directly by the Municipality since their opening.

The discovery and systematic exploration of the cave in the fifties are due to the Albenganese Speleological Group led by Giovanni Dentella, who in 1994 would become one of the founders of the Italian Tourist Caves Association – A.G.T.I.

A significant peculiarity that characterizes these caves is the rich variety of colors of the mineral formations. The colors range from pure white of calcium carbonate to burnished red, from yellow to gray.

The second room highlights another feature of this underground environment: the straws, i.e. slender thread-like stalactites, also called “spaghetti”. These are thin limestone tubes, concretions in the juvenile phase, i.e. formations that can also grow and evolve, over time, into thicker and more massive stalactites.

The largest mineral formations of the caves are often multi-millenary, such as the flows and columns, which are what arises from the union between a stalactite and a stalagmite. Also splendid are the draperies, or laminated stalactites, which seem like fabrics – e.g. the Mantle of St. Martin and the Elephant’s Ear. Their shape is due to the sliding of water along inclined rock walls and, at times, also to the ventilation that creates a displacement of the drop’s path.

Usually, in winter and spring, on the bottom of the cave, you can see one of the most beautiful attractions because there are splendid lakes with emerald green waters subject to seasonal changes linked to rainfall.