Krypta Sorana. (Kircher, _Mundus Subterraneus_, 1664, page 118 and
page 239.)--This has been spoken of as a glacière cave, but as there
is much doubt in the matter, I quote the passages, on which the
reports are based, in the original Latin: "Cryptae sunt naturales,
quarum innumerae sunt species, juxta vires naturales iis inditas. Sunt
nonnullae medicinali virtute praeditae, quaedam metallicis vaporibus,
exhalationibus, aquis scatent, sunt et glaciales, plenae nivibus et
crystallo, uti in Monte Sorano me vidisse memini." And further: "Vidi
ego in Monte Sorano cryptam veluti glacie incrustatam, ingentibus in
fornice hinc inde stiriis dependentibus, e quibus vicini montis accolae
pocula aestivo tempore conficiunt, aquae vinoque, quae iis infunduntur,
refrigerandis aptissima, extremo rigore in summas bibentium delicias
commutato."
Subterranean Ice Sheet, Mount Etna, Sicily. (Lyell, _Principles of
Geology, 11th Edition_, chapter XXVI.)--This ice sheet is near the
Casa Inglese. Sir Charles Lyell ascertained the fact of its existence
in 1828, and in 1858 he found the same mass of ice, of unknown extent
and thickness, still unmelted. In the beginning of the winter of
1828, Lyell found the crevices in the interior of the summit of the
highest cone of Etna encrusted with thick ice, and in some cases hot
vapors actually streaming out between masses of ice and the rugged and
steep walls of the crater. Lyell accounts for this ice sheet by the
explanation that there must have been a great snow bank in existence
at the time of an eruption of the volcano. This deep mass of snow
must have been covered at the beginning of the eruption by volcanic
sand showered on it, followed by a stream of lava. The sand is a bad
conductor of heat and together with the solidified lava, preserved the
snow from liquefaction.
Glacière on the Moncodine. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 13.)--The
Moncodine is described as a Dolomite near the Lago di Como. The cave
lies up the Val Sasina, two hours from Cortenuova, at an altitude of
1675 meters. The entrance faces north, and is 2.5 meters high and 1.5
meters wide. The average diameter of the cave is 16 meters. The floor
is solid ice, which has been sometimes cut for use in the hotels on the
Lago di Como and even been sent to Milan.
La Ghiacciaia del Mondole. (Fugger, _Eishöhlen_, page 8.)--The Mondole
is a mountain 2375 meters high, near Mondovi, south of Turin. The cave
lies on the eastern slope, at an altitude of about 2000 meters. It is
hard to get at. The entrance is to the east, and is 2 meters wide and
1.5 meters high. A passageway some 25 meters long leads to a large
chamber where there is plenty of ice. In hot summers ice is brought
from the cave to Mondovi. _Ghiacciaia_ means freezing cavern in Italian.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account