The discovery of the complex of tunnels dates back to 1840, when Emilio Simi carried out the necessary operations to penetrate inside the system of underground passages, from which later marble was extracted that covers the surrounding Alpi Apuane.

And the "Buca della Ventajola", this was the name given to today's Antro del Corchia, was used for a long time as the cave whence they took the elegant and rare statuary marble.

Only in the past few years the touristy potential of the underground passage was valued. Staring in '99 digging works were started, owing to financing from the European Community, of the Tuscany Region and the State with an investment of over 1.5 million euro. And after two years work a nd a month of pre-opening, since September 2001, they are officially open to the public.

These interventions kept in great consideration the effect on the environment: they tried not to cause noticeable and irreversible modifications to the environment; a number of gates at the entry of the caves will regulate the gaseous flows between inside and outside; lighting systems will only be activated upon the visitors' passage, to avoid negative effects on living and lifeless organisms of the underground world.

Finally Arpat (Regional agency for environmental protection) in association with the Park Organisation and the Tuscany Speleology Federation, has set up a preventive study and the monitoring of figures between the natural situation and the one that would result from public access. Through the monitoring results it will be possible to limit the visitors flows over the "loading capacity" in an environment such as the Antro del Corchia that needs to maintain very specific balances.

Tuscany region (In Italian)
Regional agency for environmental protection (In Italian)
Italian Speleology Federation
Alpi Apuane Park Organisation