Editing Grotto

{{Short description|Natural or artificial cave associated with use by humans}}
{{other uses}}
{{see also|Grotte (disambiguation){{!}}Grotte}}
[[File:Eternal flame falls 7252.jpg|thumb|[[Eternal Flame Falls]] in [[New York (state)|New York]] has an [[Eternal flame#Naturally fueled flames|eternal flame]] inside a small grotto behind the falls]]
[[File:Grutas de García.jpg|thumb|[[Grutas de García]] in [[Nuevo León]], [[Mexico]]]]

A '''grotto''' or '''grot''' is a natural or artificial [[cave]] or covered recess.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
|author       = <!-- not stated -->
|date         = 2000
|title        = grotto
|encyclopedia = Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary 2.5}}
</ref> 
Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at [[high tide]].{{cn|date=January 2025}} 
Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as [[garden feature]]s. The ''[[Blue Grotto (Capri)|Grotta Azzurra]]'' at [[Capri]] and the grotto at [[Tiberius]]' [[Villa Jovis]] in the [[Bay of Naples]] are examples of popular natural seashore grottoes.

{{Wiktionary|grotto}}

==Etymology==
The word ''grotto'' comes from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''grotta'', [[Vulgar Latin]] ''grupta'', and [[Latin]] ''crypta'' ("a [[crypt]]").<ref>''[[OED]]'', ''s.v.'' "grotto".</ref>  It is also related by a historical accident to the word ''grotesque''. In the late 15th century, Romans accidentally unearthed [[Nero]]'s ''[[Domus Aurea]]'' on the [[Palatine Hill]]—a series of rooms, decorated with designs of garlands, slender architectural framework, foliage, and animals. The rooms had sunk underground over time. The Romans who discovered this historical monument found it very strange, partly because it was uncovered from an "underworld" source. This led the Romans of that era to give it the name ''grottesca'', from which came the French ''[[grotesque]]''.

==Antiquity==
[[File:طاق بستان 1.jpg|thumb|Two vaulted grottoes called [[Taq-e Bostan]], located in Iran, [[Sassanian Empire|Sassanian]] era]]
Grottoes were very popular in [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] culture. Spring-fed grottoes were a feature of Apollo's oracles at [[Delphi]], [[Corinth]], and [[Clarus]].<ref>G. W. Elderkin, "The Natural and the Artificial Grotto", ''Hesperia'' '''10'''.2 (April – June 1941), pp. 125–137, gives numerous well-known ancient Greek examples, natural and architectural, with some details of their sites.</ref> The [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] city of [[Rhodes]] was designed with rock-cut artificial grottoes incorporated into the city, made to look natural.<ref>E. E. Rice, "Grottoes on the Acropolis of Hellenistic Rhodes", ''The Annual of the British School at Athens'' '''90''' (1995), pp. 383–404.</ref> At the great Roman sanctuary of [[Palestrina|Praeneste]] south of Rome, the oldest portion of the primitive sanctuary was situated on the second lowest terrace, in a grotto in the natural rock where a spring developed into a well. According to tradition, Praeneste's sacred spring had a native [[nymph]], who was honored in a grotto-like watery [[nymphaeum]].<ref>A.R.A. van Aken, "Some Aspects of Nymphaea in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia" ''[[Mnemosyne (journal)|Mnemosyne]]'', Fourth Series, '''4'''.3/4 (1951), pp. 272–284</ref>

==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}}

== Garden grottoes ==
{{see also|Shell grotto}}
[[File:Villa torrigiani di lucca, scalinata.JPG|thumb|Grotto entrance, [[Villa Torrigiani]]]]

The popularity of artificial grottoes introduced the [[Mannerism|Mannerist style]] to Italian and French gardens of the mid-16th century. Two famous grottoes in the [[Boboli Gardens]] of [[Palazzo Pitti]] were begun by [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]] and completed by [[Bartolomeo Ammanati|Ammanati]] and [[Bernardo Buontalenti|Buontalenti]] between 1583 and 1593. One of these grottoes originally housed the ''Prisoners'' of [[Michelangelo]]. Before the Boboli grotto, a garden was laid out by [[Niccolò Tribolo]] at the Medici [[Villa di Castello|Villa Castello]], near [[Florence]]. At [[Villa di Pratolino|Pratolino]], in spite of the dryness of the site, there was a Grotto of Cupid (surviving), with water tricks for the unsuspecting visitor.<ref>Webster Smith, "Pratolino", ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' '''20'''.4 (December 1961), pp. 155–168</ref> The [[Fonte di Fata Morgana]] ("Fata Morgana's Spring") at Grassina, not far from Florence, is a small garden building, built in 1573–74 as a garden feature in the extensive grounds of the Villa "Riposo" (rest) of Bernardo Vecchietti. It is decorated with sculptures in the [[Giambologna]]n manner.

The outsides of garden grottoes are often designed to look like an enormous rock, a rustic porch, or a rocky overhang. Inside, they are decorated as a temple or with fountains, [[stalactites]], and imitation gems and shells (sometimes made in ceramic); herms and mermaids, mythological subjects suited to the space; and [[naiad]]s, or river gods whose urns spilled water into pools.  Damp grottoes were cool places to retreat from the Italian sun, but they also became fashionable in the cool drizzle of the [[Île-de-France]]. In the [[Kuskovo]] Estate, there is the Grotto Pavilion, built between 1755 and 1761.
[[File:Villa torrigiani di lucca, statua 04.JPG|thumb|upright|Sculpture in a grotto setting, [[Villa Torrigiani]], Lucca]]

Grottoes could also serve as baths; an example of this is at the [[Palazzo del Te]], in the 'Casino della Grotta', where a small suite of intimate rooms is laid out around a grotto and ''loggetta'' (covered balcony). Courtiers once bathed in the small cascade that splashed over the pebbles and shells encrusted in the floor and walls.

Grottoes have also served as [[chapel]]s, or at [[Villa Farnese]] at Caprarola, a little theater designed in the grotto manner. They were often combined with cascading fountains in Renaissance gardens.

The grotto designed by [[Bernard Palissy]] for [[Catherine de' Medici]]'s château in [[Paris, France|Paris]], the [[Tuileries]], was renowned. There are also grottoes in the gardens designed by [[André Le Nôtre]] for [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]]. In England, an early garden grotto was built at [[Wilton House]] in the 1630s, probably by [[Isaac de Caus]].

Grottoes were suitable for less formal gardens too. [[Pope's Grotto]], created by [[Alexander Pope]], is almost all that survives of one of the first [[Landscape architecture|landscape gardens]] in England, at [[Twickenham]].<ref>Frederick Bracher, "Pope's Grotto: The Maze of Fancy Pope's Grotto: The Maze of Fancy", ''The Huntington Library Quarterly'' '''12'''.2 (February 1949), pp. 141–162; Anthony Beckles Willson, "Alexander Pope's Grotto in Twickenham", ''Garden History'' '''26'''.1 (Summer, 1998), pp. 31–59</ref> Pope was inspired after seeing grottoes in Italy during a visit there. Efforts are underway to restore his grotto.<ref>Victoria Lambert [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/museums/11866157/Inside-Alexander-Popes-hidden-grotto.html "Inside Alexander Pope's hidden grotto"] The Telegraph, 15 September 2015</ref> There are grottoes in the landscape gardens of [[Painshill Park]],<ref>Alison Hodges, "Painshill, Cobham, Surrey: The Grotto", ''Garden History'' '''3'''.2 (Spring 1975), pp. 23–28</ref> [[Stowe Landscape Garden|Stowe]], [[Clandon Park]], and [[Stourhead]].<ref>James Turner, "The Structure of Henry Hoare's Stourhead", ''The Art Bulletin'' '''61'''.1 (March 1979), pp. 68–77; Malcolm Kelsall, "The Iconography of Stourhead", ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'' '''46'''(1983), pp. 133–143; Kenneth Woodbridge, "Henry Hoare's Paradise," ''The Art Bulletin'' '''47'''.1 (March 1965), pp. 83–116</ref> [[Scott's Grotto]] is a series of interconnected chambers, extending 67&nbsp;ft (20 metres) into the chalk hillside on the outskirts of [[Ware, Hertfordshire]]. Built during the late 18th century, the chambers and tunnels are lined with shells, flints, and pieces of colored glass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scotts-grotto.org/CMS/index.php |title=What is Scott's Grotto |access-date=18 October 2005|date=13 May 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050513215354/http://scotts-grotto.org/CMS/index.php |archive-date=13 May 2005}}</ref> The Romantic generation of tourists might not actually visit [[Fingal's Cave]], on the remote isle of [[Staffa]] in the Scottish [[Hebrides]], but they have often heard of it, perhaps through [[Felix Mendelssohn]]'s "[[Hebrides Overture]]", better known as "[[Hebrides Overture|Fingal's Cave]]", which was inspired by his visit. In the 19th century, when miniature [[Matterhorn]]s and rock gardens became fashionable, a grotto was often found, such as at [[Ascott House]]. In Bavaria, [[Ludwig II of Bavaria|Ludwig]]'s [[Linderhof]] contains an abstraction of the grotto under Venusberg, which is figured in [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''.

Although grottoes have largely fallen from fashion since the British [[Picturesque]] movement, architects and artists occasionally try to redefine the grotto in contemporary design works. Such examples include [[Frederick Kiesler]]'s ''Grotto of Meditation for New Harmony'' (1964),<ref>{{cite news |author=Alderslade, Jessica |date=2014 |title=An Introduction to the Grotto and Its Place within Contemporary Design |work=Reinterpreting the Grotto in Contemporary Design |location=Australia}}</ref> ARM'st post-modern ''Storey Hall'' (1995), Aranda/Lasch's ''Grotto Concept,'' (2005), [[Deborah Saunt David Hills Architects|DSDHA]]'s ''Potters Field Park Pavilions'' (2008)<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 2008 |title=ArtNotes |work=Art Monthly |pages=15}}</ref>'','' Callum Moreton's ''Grotto'' pavilion (2010), and [[Antonino Cardillo]]'s ''Grottoes'' series (2013–2023).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cardillo |first=Antonino |date=October 12, 2023 |title=Grottoes |url=https://www.antoninocardillo.com/en/topics/grottoes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608140041/https://www.antoninocardillo.com/en/works/grottoes/ |archive-date=June 8, 2024 |access-date=June 8, 2024 |website=www.antoninocardillo.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Religious grottoes ==
[[File:Marian grotto with a lily pond in San Thome Basilica, Chennai.jpg|thumb|Marian grotto with a lily pond in [[San Thome Basilica|San Thome Basilica, Chennai]]]]
[[File:Gua Maria Gereja Santa.jpg|thumb|Modern Marian grotto at a church in [[Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]]]]
Today, artificial grottoes are purchased and built for ornamental and devotional purposes. They are often used as [[shrine]]s in which to place statues of saints, particularly the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]], in outdoor gardens.

Many [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]] visit a grotto where [[Bernadette Soubirous]] saw apparitions of [[Our Lady of Lourdes]]. Numerous garden shrines are modeled after these apparitions. They can commonly be found displayed in gardens and [[church architecture|churches]], among other places (see [[Lourdes grotto]]).

The largest grotto is believed to be the [[Grotto of the Redemption]] in [[West Bend, Iowa]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Grotto in an iceberg, Herbert George Ponting, original.jpg|Grotto in an [[iceberg]] with the ''[[Terra Nova (ship)|Terra Nova]]'' ship in the background (1911) during the 'British Antarctic Expedition' by [[Herbert G. Ponting]]
File:Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, grotte 02 stereographical fused.jpg|Grotto of the [[Buttes-Chaumont]] in Paris
File:Москва - Кусково, Грот.jpg|Grotto pavilion in [[Kuskovo]], [[Moscow]] (1775)
File:Anapat Grotto4.jpg|Anapat Grotto, Lastiver, [[Armenia]]
File:Shell Grotto - geograph.org.uk - 252799.jpg|[[Shell Grotto, Pontypool|Shell Grotto]], [[Wales]]
File:Bruce Peninsula National Park – The Grotto–Ontario (1).jpg|The Grotto in [[Bruce Peninsula National Park]], [[Canada]]
</gallery>
[[File:P 20240614 114401.jpg|thumb|The grotto in the greenhouse of Světlá nad Sázavou Castle]]

==See also==
{{Commons category|Grottoes}}
* [[Cave]]
* [[Architecture of cathedrals and great churches]]
* [[Brooklyn Bridge#Blue Grotto|Blue Grotto]], former underground wine storage vaults in the anchorages under the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Manhattan side
* [[Caves of Hercules]]
* [[Grotto-heavens]], Chinese religious usage associated with Daoist religion
* [[Karst]]
* [[Shell grotto]]
* [[Tunnels in popular culture]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|author=Jackson, Hazelle |title=Shell Houses and Grottoes |location=England|publisher= Shire Books) |date=2001}} Traces the development of the grotto in Italy during the Renaissance and its popularity in the UK from the eighteenth century to the present. Includes gazetteer of UK grottoes.
* {{cite book|author=Jones, B.|date=1953|title=Follies and Grottoes|location=London}}
* {{cite book|author=Miller, Naomi |title=Heavenly Caves: Reflections on the Garden Grotto|url=https://archive.org/details/heavenlycavesref0000mill |url-access=registration |location= New York| publisher= Braziller|date= 1982}} Traces the development of the grotto from Antiquity to modern times.

{{Garden features}}
{{Man-made and man-related Subterranea}}
{{Subterranea}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grottoes| ]]
[[Category:Architectural elements]]
[[Category:History of art]]
[[Category:Cave geology]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Landscape design history]]
[[Category:Landscape garden features]]
[[Category:Landforms]]
[[Category:Subterranea (geography)]]