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VENETO’S LARGEST CAVE
Go inside Veneto’s largest cave · nearly 40 kilometres underground
Underground rivers, pools, siphons and guided routes beneath the Vicenza landscape
Beneath Monte di Malo in Vicenza, Buso della Rana opens into a vast active karst system of passages, underground pools, chambers, siphons and rock formations. Together with the connected Pissatèla cave, the system extends for nearly 40 kilometres, while guided excursions take visitors through selected sections according to water levels and underground conditions.
Rana_in_rana Wadsley02, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
Know before you go
Underground conditions depend on rainfall, water levels and the selected route. Book an official guided visit, follow the equipment instructions and check the current calendar before travelling.
About
Buso della Rana is Veneto’s largest cave, beneath the karst plateau of Faedo Casaron at Monte di Malo.
The cave belongs to the Rana Pissatèla system, a network extending for nearly 40 kilometres. Water has created active passages, underground pools, chimneys, potholes, siphons and mineral formations throughout the limestone. The Rio Rana emerges directly from the cave entrance.
The underground landscape also records a much older Vicenza. Fossils found here, including shark teeth, helped reconstruct the tropical marine environment associated with the Priabonian, the final age of the Eocene, around 34 to 37 million years ago.
Today the site belongs to the European Natura 2000 network. Visitors can explore selected sections of the cave on guided excursions, including the main branch and routes reaching the Cameron dei Massi. Access inside the cave should follow the published guided visit programme because water levels and underground conditions can change rapidly.