I’ve always loved nature ever since I was little, and one of my dreams was to become… an explorer. But I didn’t know that under our region there’s another, one whose confines are unknown and many of its routes are still a secret. I discovered this hidden world 20 years ago, close to home, and it bewitched me. The caves, the womb of Mother Earth, amazingly sculpted by water over an unimaginable period of time and in ways which the finest artist could never imitate.

No two caves are alike. We have thousands of them in Friuli Venezia Giulia, some of them of unique in the world. Caves that are not just for “experts” but for ordinary folk too.

As a tourist, I’ve seen wonderful caves, I’ve been to concerts where voices and melodies blended with the sound of water, creating a magic, moving atmosphere. I discovered that caves are the ideal place for meditating because time seems to stand still and you stop thinking about the things you left on the outside. You unwind and absorb new energy.

As a caver, I’ve learned that caves are much more than a beautiful display of stalactites and stalagmites. They’re the most unexplored part of our planet, the thoroughfares of the water we drink, a history book which preserves the traces of ancient geological events. They resist anything, even earthquakes. In many cases, the air in a cave is so pure that it can be beneficial for people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory diseases.

When I emerge from a cave I’m often tired and covered in mud, but I’m always contented and sometimes thrilled by seeing places no human eye has seen before. The allure of exploring is unparalleled. I’ve taken other people into caves, even children, because everyone should see this world, to learn to love and protect it. To me, after 28 years, it’s still all to be discovered.