Cave Diving in Italy

johnv

Winter is an excellent time for diving at Valatagna, when the weather is cold the conditions are very predicatable. (and when it's warm as now it's obviously bad) In the summer thunderstorms can cause big floods unexpectedly. We've had very good conditions for the years we've been there in February.

gerstl_ossi

Exactly, the winter months normally are the best. Important that on the Highland of Asiago comes down snow, not rain as happens the last weeks, if it's cold and the water comes not down, because become ice ore snow, conditions are normally good. February, is really good. Also march, if temperature remains cold. Bad period is when the snow melds in spring and the summer months if there is much rain. Last year also summer was good because of the minor raining days.
The 3 caves , elefante, cogol dei siori e cogol dei veci are quit similar for the condition. But at fontanazzi I found good condition (vis and not to much current) also when the other caves hat to much water flow and bad vis.

gibbogeo

There are cave eveywhere in Italy. And Italy is quite long. Where are you planning to go?

In the north there are cave in Veneto and in Ticino (really close to Italy), then there are caves in tha center, in Tuscany and Lazio, and in the suth in Campania, in Sardinia also (really worth to go there, cave in Golfo di Orosei are marvelous) and maybe i forgot some other caves.

Generally there are no restrictions to go in a cave, only in North there is one cave that is closed (Gorgazzo) and some other where you need to send a fax to the public administration stating you certification and you dentity before to dive (Cogol de' Siori e Cogol de' Veci).

You can contact some local cave diver to have info about the condition of the caves. In Elefante Bianco, when the accident happened, the situation was not so bad at the time of the dive, but the day after (when where taken the pictures), after a night of raining was impossible to enter the water (the water level raised one meter in six hours).

So, before to travel for some hundreds km, ask to some local people to check the situation.