The Blue Grotto is one of several sea caves, worldwide, that is flooded with a brilliant blue or emerald light. The quality and nature of the color in each cave is determined by the particular lighting conditions in that particular cave. Sunlight, passing through an underwater cavity and shining through the seawater, creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern. The cave extends some 50 metres into the cliff at the surface, and is about 150 metres deep, with a sandy bottom. In part because of the dazzling effect of the light from the above-water opening, it is impossible for a visitor who is in one of the row-boats to identify the shape of the larger hole, the outline of the bar that separates the two holes, or even the nature of the light-source, other than a general awareness that the light is coming up from underneath, and that the water in the cave is more light-filled than the air. A visitor who places a hand in the water can see it "glow" eerily in this light.The Blue Grotto became a favoured tourist destination in the 1830s, after the visit of German writer August Kopisch and his friend Ernst Fries to the cave in 1826 and after the issuing of the book of Kopisch Entdeckung der blauen Grotte auf der Insel Capri in 1838. They were guided to the cave by a local fisherman Angelo Ferraro and during their visit they noticed the presence of Roman structures in the cave. Since then the Blue Grotto has become the emblem of the island of Capri.
The Blue Grotto is located on the southern coast of Malta, west of Wied iz-Zurrieq facing the little deserted islet of Filfla. The site got its name from a British soldier who thought that since the area looks like the Grotta Azzurra in Capri, it deserves the same name, and in fact Blue Grotto is the equivalent for Grotta Azzurra in English. The site is extremely popular, attracting some 100,000 tourists per year, also for diving purposes.
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