Morigerati

Morigerati sits on a cliff in the southern Cilento, inside the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, with six hundred and eight residents on a stone ridge above the Bussento. The river that gives the commune its identity disappears underground for seven kilometers and resurfaces from a series of karst caves directly below the village, the Grotte del Bussento, which the WWF designated as an oasis in 1985 and still manages on six hundred and seven hectares of forest and water. The path down from the centro to the cave mouth is a short walk and a steep climb back.

The commune is a Bandiera Arancione of the Touring Club Italiano, a member of the Città delle Grotte network, and sits inside one of the largest national parks in Italy. The village fits the southern Cilento depopulation pattern: an aging core, emigration out, and a small return of visitors drawn by the water under the rock.