Castellana Grotte Webcam – Puglia’s Olive Grove Country

The Castellana Grotte Webcam looks out from the edge of Castellana Grotte, a farming town on the Murgia plateau in Puglia, across a sea of olive trees toward the western outskirts. Meteo Castellana runs the camera beside its own weather station, and the station’s mast, wind vane and white sensor shield stand in the foreground. Past the treetops comes a low line of white houses, red tile roofs and a few industrial chimneys, with what appear to be the conical roofs of trulli among the groves. The upper half of the frame belongs to the sky, which is the point of a weather camera: cumulus building over the plateau, rain cloud arriving, and on clear mornings jet contrails crossing the blue. A data strip along the bottom of each image lists the station’s latest readings, from temperature and humidity to wind and the day’s rainfall.

About Castellana Grotte

Castellana Grotte is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bari, and the town sits at 290 meters (951 feet) above sea level. It is an agricultural center of the lower Murgia, and the camera shows why: olive groves run right up to the last houses. The operator describes the view as looking from Via Monopoli, on the town’s periphery, west toward the industrial zone, which is where those chimneys on the left belong.

The second half of the name comes from the Castellana Caves (Grotte di Castellana), a karst system discovered on 23 January 1938 by the cavers Franco Anelli and Vito Matarrese, helped by a local boy, Giovanni Mansueto, whom they sent down to search. The only natural opening is the Grave, a chasm 100 meters (328 feet) long, 50 meters (164 feet) wide and 60 meters (197 feet) deep. From there the explored passages run for 3,348 meters (2.1 miles) and reach 122 meters (400 feet) below street level. The entrance lies about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) southwest of the camera, out of sight under the plateau.

The trulli are the other signature of this corner of Puglia. A trullo is a traditional dry-stone hut with a conical roof, a style specific to the Itria Valley in the Murge. Farm labourers and small landowners built them as field shelters and storehouses or as permanent homes, and their golden age came in the final decades of the nineteenth century, when wine growing spread across the area.

Weather and Climate in Castellana Grotte

Winters on the plateau are mild but damp. The nearest long-term record, from the Gioia del Colle air base about 23 kilometers (14 miles) to the west-southwest, gives January highs of about 10°C (50°F) and lows of 2°C to 3°C (36°F to 37°F) for 1991 to 2020. Reanalysis data for the camera’s own location puts January nights a little milder, at around 4°C to 5°C (39°F to 41°F). November and March are the wettest months. Spring warms quickly, and April afternoons reach about 17°C to 18°C (63°F to 64°F).

Summers are hot and dry. July is the driest month, with afternoon highs around 31°C (88°F) and nights between 18°C and 21°C (64°F and 70°F). October stays warm, with highs near 21°C (70°F), before the autumn rains return, and the air base averages about 640 millimeters (25 inches) of precipitation a year. Underground, the caves hold at about 18°C (64°F) all year, which makes a tour a cool break in August and a mild one in January.

Things to Do Near Castellana Grotte

The caves come first. Guided tours follow two routes: a 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) itinerary of about 50 minutes, and a 3 kilometer (1.9 mile) route of about two hours that ends in the Grotta Bianca, the White Cave, roughly 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) from the Grave and known for its very white, translucent stalagmites. Night tours run in summer. The Franco Anelli Speleological Museum, named after one of the two cavers of 1938, opened on 23 January 2000 and is run by the caving association Gruppo Puglia Grotte.

In winter the town has its own spectacle. On the night of 11 January it lights around 100 bonfires, the Fanove, from the center out to the outlying districts, and they burn until dawn. They honor the Madonna della Vetrana, credited in local tradition with ending the plague in 1691, after which anything that might have carried infection was burned on great fires. On the afternoon of the 11th, the statue of the Madonna is carried in procession past the largest bonfire. Beyond the town, Alberobello lies about 13 kilometers (8 miles) to the southeast as the crow flies, with whole districts of trulli that have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The Adriatic towns of Polignano a Mare and Monopoli are a similar distance to the north and northeast.

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Where is Castellana Grotte located?

Castellana Grotte is in Puglia (Apulia) in southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari. It stands on the Murgia plateau at 290 meters (951 feet), about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bari, with Alberobello about 13 kilometers (8 miles) to the southeast.

What can you see on the Castellana Grotte Webcam?

Olive groves fill the lower half of the frame, with the operator’s weather station mast in front. Behind them are the western outskirts of the town, with houses, red roofs and the chimneys of the industrial zone, and a wide stretch of sky above. A strip at the bottom shows the current weather readings.

Does the Castellana Grotte Webcam show the caves?

No. The caves are underground, and their entrance, the Grave, lies about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) southwest of the camera. The camera shows the countryside and the edge of the town above them.

What is the weather like in Castellana Grotte?

Winters are mild and damp, with January highs around 10°C (50°F) and nights a few degrees above freezing. Summers are hot and dry, with July highs around 31°C (88°F). November and March bring the most rain.

How deep are the Castellana Caves?

The explored system reaches 122 meters (400 feet) below street level and runs for 3,348 meters (2.1 miles). The Grave, the entrance chasm, is 60 meters (197 feet) deep, and the caves stay at about 18°C (64°F) all year.

When are the Fanove bonfires in Castellana Grotte?

The Fanove are lit on the night of 11 January, with around 100 bonfires burning across the town until dawn. They commemorate the Madonna della Vetrana and the end of the plague in 1691.

How far is Castellana Grotte from Alberobello?

About 13 kilometers (8 miles) as the crow flies, with Alberobello and its UNESCO-listed trulli to the southeast.

Who runs the webcam in Castellana Grotte?

The camera belongs to Meteo Castellana, a local weather service that publishes forecasts for central Puglia and especially for Castellana Grotte. It sits beside the service’s own weather station, whose readings appear on every image.

Source: Meteo Castellana