From a speleological point of view, the Matese carbonate massif holds more surprises than we can imagine. Since the mountain is of karstic origin , over the millennia the water has managed to dig real underground roads, creating paths of incredible beauty. The deepest cave found in the Matese area is Pozzo della Neve , tenth in Italy with a depth of 1,048 m , currently boasting an extension of 8 km . Tullio Bernabei, who is the greatest connoisseur of this underground marvel, defines this cave as the " Abyss of dreams ", given its size and the enormous and unusual rooms for caves found in the Matese area. This cave is located in the north-eastern part of Matese, in the Campochiaro area, the entrance is located at an altitude of 1,368 m within the protected area of the WWF.
THE STORY OF THE "SNOW WELL"
In 1955 a group of Roman speleologists discovered the entrance to this cave and initially explored it up to -110 m, failing to go further due to a siphon full of water which made it impossible to continue the exploration. Subsequently, in 1962 , the conditions of the cave play in favor of the speleologists, the siphon is empty due to a period of prolonged drought and the cave is explored up to the beginning of the Active Branch and part of Pozzo 80 (to facilitate understanding, follow the map of the cave in the photo gallery). In 1972the Galleria Annunziata is reached and in the following two years it is only possible to explore it up to -731 meters because a new siphon is encountered which blocks the way. Finally in 1988 , after having explored the Ramo dei Babà , Ramo delle Foglie and Ramo dei Sifoni in several expeditions , four Roman speleologists manage to overcome the siphon while diving and touch the bottom at an altitude of -1,045 m . The explorations continue today . Access to the cave is guaranteed only in the summer due to the first siphon at -110 m which obstructs the passage.