Timparossa Cave (Niviera?)

Etna North – Castiglione di Sicilia
Coordinates: 33S 501435E 4184455N (Utm Wgs84) | 37°48'27.1″N 15°00'58.8″E 
ELEVATION: 2020 m
Development: approximately 12m.
Nearest known location: Monte Timparossa
Exploration: visitable with only helmet and lights.
Taken over by Dario Teri and Damiano Teri (on 13.10.2019/XNUMX/XNUMX)
Notified to the relevant municipality on \\
This small but interesting cave of modest dimensions develops on ancient lavas, presumably from 1614, surrounded by more recent lavas from 1947. The cavity develops on a single room rather large and high but that overall does not exceed 15 meters of development. However, there is a dry wall inside that could suggest its use as a sheepfold or more probably as a snow deposit (niviera) and watering place for flocks in the summer months, something that happened frequently in the past. In fact, nearby there are several mule tracks coming from Mount Timparossa that today are lost in the growing beech forest. Therefore it is not an unexplored cave, but little known due to its location far from the most common paths and at the time of writing it would not be registered or indicated on any map, even if it is very likely that it could be known and named in dialect by veteran tradesmen (shepherds or mushroom pickers) of the area. For this reason it was preferred to give it a simple name linked to the topography of the places.
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Dario Teri 13 October 2019 Unseen & Little-Known Etna Caves No Responses