The sea cave with green light
Between Amalfi and Furore, in the municipality of Conca dei Marini, the Grotta dello Smeraldo is the Amalfi Coast's answer to Capri's Blue Grotto. Discovered by a local fisherman in 1932, it is a karst cave partly submerged by the sea, about 60 metres long and 30 wide, filled with stalactites and stalagmites.
Its name comes from the intense emerald green colour of the water, produced by sunlight entering through an underwater opening and reflecting off the sandy bottom, lighting the cave from below. Visitors are rowed around the cave by a boatman, who points out the shapes in the rock. On the bottom, at a depth of about four metres, is a ceramic nativity scene, placed in 1956, which is visited by divers at Christmas. Some of the stalagmites are submerged, a sign that the cave was once above sea level and sank with the movement of the coast.
Tip: you can reach the grotto by a lift from the coast road or by boat from Amalfi; the best light is around midday. The visit is short but memorable.
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