Caselle in Pittari

On a mound of Mount Pittari (also called San Michele), at 690 m above sea level, is set a village made of small houses (Italian casette, dialect caselle). The current village was originally built around a defensive Castle, on a hill not far from Mount Pittari; over years houses have been built in concentric circles, a typical feature of this village. 

From the bottom, crossing Via Indipendenza (that marks the division with the old town running parallel to the ancient walls) you will walk among ancient noble palaces and chapels, along narrow, winding alleys typical of the medieval village, up to the top of the town. From the tower, in ruins, (mid 12th century) and the medieval Church of the Assumption the view opens over a picturesque landscape. Caselle in Pittari is historically connected to the path which leads on top of the mountain (Pittari, from which it takes its name): here is the cave dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, venerated protector of the town. The name Caselle in Pittari celebrates both the geographical and religious bond between the inhabitants and their mountain, but in 1863 it was necessary in order to distinguish it from other towns of the Kingdom of Italy of the same name.

THE CLIFF AND SINKHOLES
 Caselle in Pittari is the hidden face of the Cilento National Park, shown by karst phenomena such as gorges, sinkholes, ponors, and caves. The waters of the Bussento, after the artificial barrier of Lake Sabetta placed upstream from the town, suddenly sink and disappear. At 2 km from the town centre, surrounded by dense vegetation, a hole opens: a chasm with a rocky wall (150 m high), locally known as La Rupe.
You can reach it from the S.P. 16 and then taking the municipal road to Caravo. A path leads you within this impressive ravine, shifting from 400 to 230 m, on muddy limestone slabs that stretches up to the imposing 25 m high arch, where the river enters the cave (you can see it for the first 500 m with a flashlight) and flows into a huge cavity, continues beneath mount Pannello and re-emerges 6 km further, downstream, at the WWF Oasis of Morigerati.

The karst system is completed by the small sinkholes of Orsivacca, of Caravo and of Cozzetta located not far from La Rupe; visitors can enjoy them through brief and fascinating paths, surrounded by habitats of great naturalistic value.

Source: www.caselleinpittariturismo.it