Lamalunga Visitor Centre

HISTORY OF LAMALUNGA VISITOR CENTRE AND THE ALTAMURA MAN

Hosted in a typical Puglia farm, the centre is 3 km from the residential area of Altamura in the heart of Alta Murgia National Park and forms part of the ‘Altamura Man Museum Network’.
In 1993, not far from here in Lamalunga Cave, the remains of a Homo neanderthalensis that lived between 180,000 and 130,000 years ago during the Palaeolithic Age were found.

The skeleton was embedded in karstic formations inside the cave and for this reason was complete. Its excellent state of preservation enabled experts and scientists to acquire new information on the Neanderthal man and even to create an incredible reconstruction which you can admire at Altamura National Museum.

WHY COME TO THE LAMALUNGA VISITOR CENTRE IN ALTAMURA

A trip to the Lamalunga Visitor Centre is essential for those that want to understand this land and the dynamics that led to the discovery of the fossilised skeleton of the Altamura Man. The exhibition provides visitors with in-depth information on karst and enables them to learn more about speleology and the specific local geology.

In the Bat Room you can put on a typical caving helmet equipped with distance sensors, earphones and a darkening visor and feel what it is like to move around without being able to see, just as bats do in the dark.

The Lamalunga Visitor Centre is also a privileged starting point for exploring other incredible places in the vicinity: Grotta dell’Uomo, Parco della Mena, Grotta della Capra and the Pulo.

Altamura is full of fascinating places and Lamalunga Visitor Centre is a prime example. Make sure you check out the other two sites of the “Altamura Man Museum Network”: Altamura National Archaeological Museum and Palazzo Baldassarre