The Blue Grotto is one of few sea caves, worldwide, that is flooded
with a vivid blue or emerald light. The quality and nature of the color in each
cave is determined by the specific lighting conditions in that particular cave.
So, you must be bewitched by the unearthly exquisiteness and glowing blue
waters in the Blue Grotto sea cave, scoured the web looking for more. So, you
could be find a favorite spot of a Roman emperor, has inspired artists for
several centuries, and has become a massive tourist attraction on the Isle of
Capri. In Blue Grotto, the light comes from two sources; one is a small hole
exist in the cave wall, exactly at the waterline, that is a meter and half in
diameter. This hole is hardly big enough to admit a tiny rowboat, and normally
used as the entranceway. In photos taken from within the cave, the above water
half of this hole seems as a spot of dazzling white light.
The other source of light is a second hole, with a surface area about
10 times as large as the first, which lies right below the entranceway,
separated from it by a bar of rock between one and two meters thick. However
much less light, per square meter, is able to enter through the lower opening,
but its large size ensures that it is the primary source of light. The stunning
effect of the light from the above-water opening, it is difficult for a tourist
who is in one of the row-boats to identify the shape of the larger hole, the
outline of the bar that separates the two holes, or even the nature of the
light-source, other than a general alertness that the light is coming up from
underneath, and that the water in the cave is more light-filled than the air.
Therefore in rough seas and at high tide, the famous sea cave is not
accessible; it has also been closed to tourists in the past due to water
pollution in the form of raw sewage. It is not the only sea cave in the Island
of Capri and it’s not the only blue grotto in the world, but it’s absolutely
the most famous. A tourist who places a hand in the water can see it "glow"
eerily in this light. The grotto was famous by the Romans, and apparently used
by the Emperor Tiberius during the years when he retired to Capri. Roman
Emperor sculptures of the appropriate period showing Neptune and tritons have
been recovered from the cave and it is thought more might lie on the deep
bottom. Further, the discovery of remains of an ancient landing place and the
work on an underground tunnel, form an image of a natural cavern adorned by
statues. The grotto has appears in many books, and highlighted in the 1953
Newbery Honor book, Red Sails to Capri, by Ann Weil. In Alberto Moravia's 1954
novel Contempt “Il disprezzo”, visions of the hero appear when he decides to
pay a final visit to the cave. Although in May 1949 Princess Margaret visited Blue
Grotto. Once upon a time, Roman Emperor Tiberius used this lovely Blue Grotto,
a sea cave, as his personal swimming pool. He loved the Blue Grotto so much
that it was his favorite “nymphaeum”.
The grotto was recognized to the locals under the name of “Gradola”,
was abandoned and feared by local sailors because of legends of spirits and
demons which populated the cave. But it was avoided because due to be inhabited
by witches and monsters. As the time passes, the Blue Grotto became a popular
tourist destination in the 1830s, after the visit of German writer “August
Kopisch” and his friend Ernst Fries to the cave in 1826 and after the issuing
of the book of “Kopisch Entdeckung der blauen Grotte auf der Insel Capri” in
1838. They were directed to the cave by a local fisherman “Angelo Ferraro” and
during their journey, they’ve noticed the presence of Roman structures in the
cave. Since then the Blue Grotto has become the emblem of the island of Capri.
Moreover entrance to Blue Grotto on a day when the water is perfectly
calm enough, the visitors are allowed to go inside. The Blue Grotto is one of
those places, where at peaks times the queue of tour boats and those arriving
by land can be one to two hours long, even though the total time stays in the
cave is only a few minutes. Many visitors are wondering what all the fuss is
about? it’s a cave with a small pool of blue water and will begrudge the cost
and time involved in seeing it. While the others are adore the place. Despite
of all facts, it’s must see place if you’re going to Italy.
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