Editing Grotto (section)

==Cellars in Ticino==
[[File:Cevio Grotti, Maggiatal 1.JPG|thumb|Grotto in [[Cevio]]]]
In [[Ticino]], the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, grottoes were places where wine and food were stored and preserved. They were built by exploiting the morphology of rocks and boulders, to create rooms with a cool climate suitable for food, particularly milk and cheese, as well as potatoes, sausages, and wine storage.<ref>{{Cite web
 | url           = https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220529-switzerlands-ingenious-cooling-caves
 | title         = Switzerland's ingenious cooling caves
 | language      = en
 | work          = [[BBC Online#International-only site|BBC Travel]]
 | date          = 2022-03-30
 | access-date   = 2022-06-07
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 | url           = https://www.lebendige-traditionen.ch/dam/tradition/de/dokumente/tradition/ti/cultura_dei_grottinellasvizzeraitaliana.pdf.download.pdf/cultura_dei_grottinellasvizzeraitaliana.pdf
 | title         = Grotto culture in Italian Switzerland
 | language      = it
 | work          = Living Traditions of Switzerland
 | publisher     = Swiss Confederation
 | date          = 2018
 | access-date   = 2022-06-07
}}</ref>

The importance of these cellars is demonstrated in their number; for example, there are 40 grotti in [[Maggia (municipality)|Maggia]], no fewer in [[Moghegno]], and about 70 in [[Cevio]] behind Case Franzoni. Some grotti have been opened to the public, as in [[Avegno, Switzerland|Avegno]], but most have lost their original character as they became rustic restaurants which serve basic local food and drink. A true grotto is dug out under a rock or between two boulders, where subterranean air currents  keep the room cool. Often a grotto had a second floor with another one or two rooms for the fermentation cask and tools of the vintage. In front of the grotto were a table and benches of stone, where the farmers could rest and refresh themselves.<ref name="schweiz">{{Cite journal
 | date          = 1999
 | title         = Im Vorgarten zum Paradies
 | language      = 
 | journal       = Schweiz. Vallemaggia
 | volume        = 2
 | issue         = 1
 | doi           = 10.33926/gp.2019.1.5
 | issn          = 1421-8909
 | doi-access    = free
}}</ref>{{rp|18}}