A fascinating and little-known place opens up between the spa town and the medieval village: the Maona Cave, a millennia-old cavity in the limestone subsoil of the hillside.
It was named after the ancient Maona family, active in the area between the 9th and 12th centuries, who owned land in this very area.
A discovery born of necessity
In the 19th century, following land reclamation works promoted by Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine, the area experienced a population growth that required new building material. During excavations in 1860, in search of quarry stone, the cave was discovered. Animal remains and artifacts traceable precisely to the Maona family were found inside.
A rare and fascinating ecosystem
The cave maintains a constant temperature of 15 °C and is inhabited by a rare protected species of bats, a sign of the delicacy of its ecosystem. The natural environment has remained largely intact, making the visit an evocative experience that respects the original context.
Two wells for a journey underground
What makes Grotta Maona unique is its particular conformation: the entrance is through a first shaft that leads the visitor into a cavity 20 meters deep and about 200 meters long. The path continues to a second shaft, which leads back to the light, symbolically closing a circle between the underground and the surface.
