Laurino (Salerno), a hidden treasure in the Cilento National Park: the Grava di Vesalo

Famous all over Europe for its great speleological value and for the surrounding landscape , the spectacular sinkhole of the Grava di Vesalo is formed by the waters of the Milenzio stream and has two shafts: the first 43 metres deep and the other a whole 100 metres deep. At the bottom there is an underground lake that branches out into a series of crevices, waterfalls and shafts. Accessible only to the most experienced cavers, these places are home to quite unique forms of life.

A sinkhole is a cavity, usually funnel-shaped, formed by the dissolution of carbonate rocks (such as limestone, dolomite and marble), which are made soluble by a reaction between carbonic acid (carbon dioxide dissolved in water) and the calcium carbonate the rocks are made of.
Erosion can take different forms: on the surface, as in karren fields or dolines, or deeper and underground, as in the case of sinkholes.
The wide chasm, made up of a double shaft of 43 and 100 metres, at the bottom of which opens a tunnel-like cave into which the waters of the Silenzio stream pour when in flood, consists of a succession of shafts, waterfalls and small lakes, named Blanc, Lago Laurino, galleria delle marmitte, Galleria Luberns, Sala La Bruna, Sala del camino, Antro degli Opilionidi, Discesa Durante.

There are two recommended trails to reach the Grava di Vesalo: the first starts from the turn-off for Pruno, after the first medieval bridge. The second starts from the other side of the village, near the Cappella della Madonna del Monte. It reaches the Grava di Vesalo after crossing Laurino’s second medieval bridge, passing the rural chapel of S. Elena, the Gorgo-Nero springs and the Valle Soprana, and skirting the Scanno del Tesoro.

Hard to reach but also very interesting are the Grotta dei Fraulusi and the Grotta di S. Elena, near Pruno, where the Saint lived in complete seclusion as a hermit and where she died in 530. Since then it has been home to a sanctuary dedicated to her.