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Fonte Sotterra - An Underground Cave at Fiesole near Florence

The local council organizes also guided tours to Fonte Sotterra. This is an artificial underground cave, created by removing the marly layers, the so called marl, that lie between two sandstone blocks, in order to catch the numerous water streams and convey them to an accessible space where the accumulation and collecting of water could be possible.

The inlet that surrounds Montececeri, Poggio Magherini and the hill of S. Apollinare until the centre of Borgunto and beyond, direction Valle del Mugnone, covers a fault that has always caused the gathering of water and makes the area rich in springs. The Fonte Sotterra is about 10 meters and a half wide and 32 meters and a half long, from the bottom of the entrance stairs to the end. The drop from the entrance threshold to the last step is about 5 m. and from this point to the end about 11m, that makes a total of about 16 meters. The average height is man-high. The total capacity of storage under normal water flow conditions is about 700 cubic meters.

The Fonte was used as water spring of the "village" Borgunto from Medieval Ages till the last world war. The maps and plans of the "Capitani di parte Guelfa" (literally Captains of the Guelph side) of the 16th century are the most ancient documents we have.

The protected area of Montececeri, is almost completely covered by woods and has 19 abandoned quarries of serena stone that are today available for visits through paths both for tourists and for excursionists.

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