The blue cave |
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Collection title
Blue line
First broadcast date
05/25/2002
Abstract
Donatella Bianchi interviews Antonio, a boatman, on the characteristics of the blue cave of Capri Island, on the tourists' influx and on his job.
Broadcaster
RAI - RAI Uno
Audiovisual form
Documentary
Primary theme
Landscapes and environment
Secondary themes
- Tourism and cultural sites / Tourist sites
Credits / Cast
- Bianchi Donatella - Speaker
Map locations
- Italy - South Italy - Capri
Original language
Italian
Context
The Blue Grotto
Yvan Gastaut
The "Blue Grotto" is a sea cave in the town of Anacapri on the northwest shore of the island of Capri in the province of Naples. It is famous for the "cobalt" glowing blue reflects of its walls and for its clear "crystal"water. This exceptional glow, attracting a large number of tourists, is caused by the natural light that enters the water and is refracted on the walls of the cave. The countless enthusiastic descriptions were followed by postcards but also by lithographs and photographs.
This underground karst cavity covers an area of about sixty meters long, twenty-five meters wide, and three meters deep on a white and sandy bed. The seven to fourteen meters ceiling is called "azzuro duomo" ("blue cathedral"). The cave has two entrances: the first is underwater while the second is one meter above sea level, which means that only when the sea is calm, a small rowing boat can be used in the spread position to enter.
During Roman times, the "Blue Grotto" was a nymphaeum, a sanctuary dedicated to the aquatic nymphs of Roman mythology. Then, for several centuries, it became known by the Capriotes as "cave Gradola" but was rarely approached as in the imagination of the islanders, it nourished many legends of witches and monsters, which scared the population.
They were two romanticized tourists visiting Capri, who rediscovered it in 1826. The German poet, writer and painter August Kopish (1799-1853) and the Swiss artist Ernest Fries (1801-1833) came to the place with a fisherman Angelo Ferraro who was their guide.
In the context of the emission Lineablu, vivere il mare broadcasted on RAI Uno on Saturday afternoon between 1994 and 2003, the journalist, writer and presenter Donatella Bianchi's objective was to develop a "sea culture" among Italian viewers. The emphasis is on the maritime economy, traditions and territory as well as tourism and culture. This excerpt from an emission of Lineablu released in May 25, 2002 takes the viewer with Donatella Bianchi aboard one of the boats to visit the "Blue Grotto" in the company of a speleologist, Giovanni Andrea and Antonio, a fisherman converted into a touristic guide.