International Journal of Speleology

Società Speleologica Italiana

The SSI is the only national organization whose role is essentially devoted to speleology in Italy. The first Società Speleologica Italiana was founded in 1903 at Bologna by M. Gortani, G. Trebbi and C. Alzona, and was re-founded after WWII at Pavia in 1951. Currently there are more than 2600 individual members and about 180 affiliated groups. The Society represents Italian cavers and speleologists: in this capacity it organizes National Congresses and, within the International Union of Speleology, nominates the Italian delegates to International Congresses.

The SSI co-ordinates both the activity of Italian cavers abroad (establishing contacts with corresponding societies) and the activity of the foreign cavers in Italy. Foreign cavers are therefore kindly requested to contact the SSI when planning their visit to our country.

The head office of the SSI is in the Department for Geological Sciences of the Bologna University: Società Speleologica Italiana, Via Zamboni 67 - I-40126 BOLOGNA.

The office also hosts the "Centro di Documentazione Speleologica F. Anelli" (CIDS), which is the only thematic library on speleology that is open to the public in Italy.

It is one of the largest speleological libraries in the world, and the largest for ancient books on this subject. Every item is recorded on a personal computer and the library database with a retrieval program (author, title or keywords) is available to everyone.

The SSI is responsible for the maintenance of the Italian Cave Register, updated at a regional level by teams of local cavers, mostly coordinated by the regional speleological federations (where they exist). It is one of the most dynamic of the world, with over 36,000 catalogued caves representing a total development of over 2500km.

Great importance is given by the SSI to the teaching of speleology, at both popular and scientific levels. The related courses are delivered both at local and national level, using texts and visual aids produced by the SSI.

The SSI promotes and co-ordinates the drafting of statutes concerning the protection of caves and karst areas and the development of speleology. Presently, as a consequence of this activity, nearly all Italian Regions have approved statutes concerning speleology.

Publications

The Society publishes several periodicals and occasional books, among which are:

SPELEOLOGIA
Published twice a year with popular papers on explorations and scientific research.

GROTTE D'ITALIA
Published occasionally, presently used for the proceedings of the National congresses.

MEMORIE DELL'ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI SPELEOLOGIA
Published occasionally.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPELEOLOGY
Official journal of the International Union of Speleology, published on an irregular basis until 2004, at the moment published six-monthly.

UIS - CAVE DIVING MAGAZINE
Official Journal of the Commission for Cave Diving-UIS, published once a year.

OPERA IPOGEA
Published four-monthly, regarding speleology in urban areas and in artificial caves.

Monographies

ALTRE PICCOLE PROFONDITÀ
Author: Stefano Meggiorini (2000)

CENTRO ITALIANO DI DOCUMENTAZIONE SPELEOLOGICA
Author: Various (1999)

GROTTE E FORRE
Authors: Giuseppe Antonini, Giovanni Badino (1997)

GROTTE & SPELEOLOGIA
Authors: Various (1998)

L'ACQUA CHE BERREMO
Author: Mario Vianelli (2002)

L'AGENDO 2004
Author: Michele Sivelli (2003)

LA VETTA E IL FONDO
Author: Roberto Chignola (1996)

SPELEOLOGIA DI SPEDIZIONE
Author: Giovanni Badino, Tullio Bernabei (eds.) (1994)

TECNICHE DI GROTTA
Author: Giovanni Badino (1992 and 1996)

Quaderni didattici

This series has been made by the Commissione Nazionale Scuole di Speleologia (Italian Speleological School Commission) on an irregular basis. Up to now 14 issues have been published concerning many arguments: Geomorphology, Speleogenesis, Techniques, Biospeleology, Urban Speleology, Cave Climate, Cave Minerals, Environmental Protection, Topography, Use of GPS, History of Speleology, Photography, Karst Aquifers, Geology and Cave Rescue.