Apuane 2007 International Speleology Meeting
Castelnuovo in Garfagnana (LU) 27-31 october 1-4 november
The english site and the calendar (italian) Special thanks to Peggy Renwick for the translations
Why are we holding a meeting on speleology in the Apuan Alps? First of all, because meeting signifies gathering together with others for a single goal…. The goal in this case is Speleology. The Apuan Alps form a huge mass of carboniferous rocks subject to karst processes, a type of terrain that favors the formation of caves, a region ideal for caving. Certainly, it’s not essential to be in the dark of a cave just to talk about caving, but if we talk about caves we do so in order to see, experience, and descend into the caves of the Apuans. This is our goal for APUANE 2007… to offer caving to cavers, to show the Apuan hills at their most intimate state - to include the land, its inhabitants, its marble masses and deep abysses. The Apuan Alps are lcoated near the center of the Italian peninsula; they are easily accessible and ideal for a meeting on and about speleology. The slopes that face the sea are steep and precipitous; the internal valleys slope down to the Serchio River, which gathers teir waters and passes through Castelnuovo di Garfagnana at the midpoint of its journey from the Apuans to the Appennines. Castelnuovo is the capital and central city of the internal slopes of the Apuans, and it has seen its share of cave-related meetings. IN 1994 it hosted the National Congress of Speleology, against the splendid background of the submerged town of Fabbriche di Careggine, at the bottom of the Lake of Vagli - which at the time was drained for maintenance of the dam.
Why “Metamorphosis?”
Metamorphosis means mutation, change… What is there to change within speleology? Nothing more than what is already taking place whitin its natural evolution… We li,e to thnk that this meeting is based around a change of spirit, of putting together speleological experiences not only through science, reports, photographs and films, but also to have the common experience of speleology - by going caving! But ghese goals are our desires, not our command to you, and this is why Metamorphosis ends with a question mark - as if to say… At Apuane 2007, apart from the sessions and movies, won’t you remember your helmet and caving gear?
The Organizing Committee of Apuane 2007