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Michele Angileri

Fosso dei Tre Archi

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The karstic sides Melfa Gorges are furrowed by a few seasonal creeks that go down steep to the river, with cascades and narrows. Fosso dei Tre Archi is one of them. The name comes from three natural arches that characterize the canyon. They are the remains of the ancient subterranean path of the stream, brought to light by orogenesis.

Name	Fosso dei Tre Archi
Area	Lazio, Ciociaria
Nearest village	Santopadre
Elevation loss	265 m
Length	350 m
Highest cascade	35 m
Rock	Limestone
Rating	3
Shuttle	Possible
Explored by	Upper part: Michele Angileri; may 22 1994 Lower part: Michele Angileri, Carlo Scappaticci; march 11 2015

I remember ...

The first time I descended the canyon I felt unsatisfied with it. So I interrupted the exploration at the half (before meeting the first arch). Truly I don't understand what was passing through my head that day ... I ranked the canyon as "uninteresting" and I called it Fosso Tranquillo (Quiet Creek), so no one ever wanted to repeat it.

But at last someone wanted to: me.
Evidently, the rational part of my head did not like the way I had classified the canyon, and it had instilled the doubt that I had made a gross error of judgment.
So I returned to Fosso Tranquillo, 20 years later. But this time the canyon looked beautiful to my eyes. No doubt it was really interesting!
And then came the arches ... and it was clear that the name Fosso Tranquillo was not the right one for this place.