![]() cookieless, no-ads, no threats canyon exploring with Michele Angileri Vallone Porto![]() ![]() ![]()
![]() The dolomite wall of Monte S. Angelo ai Tre Pizzi dominates the rocks where rise Positano and its satellite villages Montepertuso and Nocelle. The rocky mountain and the sea blend together generating an extraordinary and hard landscape made of white rock, green mediterranean bush an blue water. Still in such a hostile environment Man made villages and terrace fields. Paths joining them pass on ledges between huge walls, and climb the steep mountainsides with the longest stairsteps I've ever seen. The steep canyon of Vallone Porto opens here. It begins below the tops of Monte S. Angelo, and immediately it becomes a tight dark narrows between walls rising up to 200-250 meters from canyon's bottom, where you find a continuos sequence of cascades the highest of which is 75 meters. Canyon of Porto drops 730 m vertical in a 1400 m length. Then comes the place known as Il Porto: a wide canyon not so steep covered by a lush forest. Vallone Porto is among the most interesting canyoning trails in Europe. Now that all cascades are bolted it can be covered in
one day. A comfortable exit path exists at its half, so you may do only one half of it if you like.
  I remember ...Canyon of Vallone Porto was explored by a team of cavers from Napoli, in the early nineties.
We found their bolts into the canyon: all were rusted and we couldn't use any of them.
Moreover, we realized that other people had been through lower canyon, even before those cavers. In 1975, or so,
a pipeline was placed through lower canyon, for bringing water from Porto springs down to Positano. Pipeline was
anchored on bars of steel hammered into walls' holes.
Narrows end in the place local people call il Porto. It is a wide and steep valley covered by a forest, enclosed
by big rock walls 200 meters tall. Il Porto is still free from urbanization thanks to the work of two painters
that 40 years ago chose to live here, in a little house with no electric light and sewerage: Vali Myers and Gianni
Menichetti. In the wild environment of Porto, surrounded by impassable and huge walls, they found inspiration for their
paintings, and they found also the serenity. That place has a natural defense against modern life and society.
At present the Porto is protected by WWF. In year 2000 European Union proclaimed it a "site of Community importance". Photos by Michele Angileri e Andrea Pucci
Copyright © 2002- Michele Angileri. All rights reserved. |
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