A tourist train to connect the Castellana Caves with the city center
Castellana Grotte, March 16, 2017 – From today, it's easier for tourists to the Castellana Caves to reach the town center, where they can visit the ancient village and its attractions. A small train connects the caves to the center of Castellana throughout the day. The project is being launched thanks to the synergy with local merchant associations, with whom we have been collaborating positively for several years. The Castellana Caves have welcomed a proposal from a private individual, through the Castellana Confcommercio, to launch a shuttle service between the caves and the city center via a tourist train, granting use of the parking area in Piazzale Anelli after obtaining the necessary permits from the municipality and the municipal police. This private service, at no cost to the Caves company, benefits the growing number of tourists who come to our karst site, as well as the entire town of Castellana, which is also becoming a tourist attraction.
The tourist train has been operating for a few days now and will be officially inaugurated next Sunday, March 19th, at 10:00 a.m. in Piazzale F. Anelli, in the Castellana Caves tourist complex. Representatives of the Municipality of Castellana, the Castellana Caves Society, and the local Confcommercio (General Confederation of Italian Trade) will be present at the presentation.
The President of Confcommercio of Castellana Grotte, Gianni Mongelli, applauds the launch of the project and underlines that “the good work of synergy between Confcommercio and the Grotte Company which has already led to positive results in the past and which continues in this direction".
The President of Grotte srl, Domi Ciliberti, recalls how the project follows a line already successfully launched: "Two years ago, for Christmas, then for the Chicken and Rabbit Festival, and again for the Fanove Caves, we created shuttle connections between the city center and the Caves. We strongly believe in these types of initiatives and welcome the proposals we receive from trade associations, which are in line with our tourism development project."In the future, initiatives will be launched and strengthened to promote tourism between Castellana's two jewels, the Caves and the historic center."This is in line with the goals of increasingly focusing on tourism and culture as another pillar of the local economy. – Comments Domi Ciliberti – Looking ahead, the Company is committed to finding the best ways and means, including using its own resources, to encourage tourist traffic from the Caves to the city center. Network projects are also underway to attract visitors from neighboring towns, including Alberobello, Locorotondo, Conversano, and Polignano a Mare, and bring tourists from those areas' accommodations directly to the Castellana Caves.".
Cave tourists will also be able to reach the center of Castellana by bicycle, thanks to the bicycles that the Metropolitan City has assigned to the Castellana Caves as the first tourism operator in the "Bari Guest Card" project. The 12 bicycles will be made available to tourists who wish to use them, allowing them to reach the city center in an eco-friendly manner.
As part of its fruitful collaboration with trade associations, the Grotte di Castellana company has renewed its agreement with "Castellana Conviene" for 2017. This agreement provides for the distribution of €3 discount vouchers for visits to the Caves at member businesses.
“The vouchers have been a great incentive to visit our shops before visiting the Caves, creating a good commercial tourist link with our beautiful Caves. – Comments Giampiero Galliano, president of “Castellana Conviene” – This is not just a financial benefit, but also a positive image boost, making our businesses proud to contribute to the tourism promotion of their town. We've received a lot of positive feedback for this wonderful initiative, which we promoted and implemented thanks to our collaboration with Grotte srl.".
Press Office Grotte di Castellana Srl
Serena Greco Mobile. +39 348 7649373
Rossana Paolillo Mobile. +39 328 1787297
