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Busa di Manna, the Sinkhole

By Iulia Millesima

In my July exploration ( which you can watch a summarizing video on the top) I can confirm the scarce wind condition, while in the upper edge of the basin the wind was easily detected. The busa can be seen on the right of the track 707 Rifugio Rosetta-Val Canali ( about an hour hiking from Rifugio Rosetta), and it is recognizable from the form of broad and deep basin, the scattered and still not melted snow and the temperature monitoring system mounted on top of a stirrup positioned in the lowest point. During the descent from the top track to the real Busa a decrease in temperature was immediately detected, which became even almost scary in the last ten vertical meters. But, once on the bottom, surprisingly an immediate acclimatization took place and I did not feel the slightest need of sweatshirt (I spent there more than an hour in t-shirt). On the bottom of the basin I felt the air was highly ionized, though static.

Since it is a sinkhole,  the presence of surface openings for water disappearance in the underground was assumed. In fact, I quickly found an aperture (frozen inside and probably remnant of an ancient cave) and a lower slot still doing its swallowing melting snow duty.

San Martino di Castrozza area is known to be exceptionally thunderstorming during summer, with almost clear winter instead. But those who are accustomed with the area, also know that summer rainy weather typically start from the early afternoon ( with typical afternoon hailstorms and thunders), then leaving a  wonderfully clear sky conditions from the night on till the noon of the day after, and such deep blue sky conditions are hardly seen in other Alps zones.  In fact, due to tradition, while my trip was coming to an end clouds were already climbing from the woods up the outer walls of the plateau. And shortly after they actually became so heavily foggy to be cut by knife ( to be honest only a dimming red jacket led me out of that grey hell).

clouds climbing from the woods san martino plateau
san martino castrozza plateau afternoon fog

To this extent, many alchemist will affirm that our Spiritus Mundi catching sky conditions should stay absolutely clear and bright. And they are not wrong, but they also should know that the Moon is responsible for taking the Spiritus Mundi down to the earth, after having spent the daytime lingering in the higher atmosphere layers. And there is no cleaner sky than the night sky after an afternoon thunderstorm, exceptionally free from most atmospheric dusts and nitrogen oxide, probably the same dust some alchemists claim to be able to collect from the Sun, but still atmospheric dusts and nitrogen oxide, though strongly ionized. Which is not bad, alchemically speaking, but this claimed “solar powder” very hardly can be called Spiritus Mundi.

So we know the Spiritus Mundi gets condensed in cold condition, more exactly in its way from hot to cold regions (4), although some affirm it is attracted by natural fire as well. We know Spiritus Mundi loves to condense fitting into the slots of lower places. We also know it fails to reach the earth surface during sunlight and tends instead to fall during clear moonlight. We are acknowledged that Spiritus Mundi hates wind, but loves strongly ionized placed. To cap it all, it definitely loves rocky mountains, as well as desert conditions. Eventually we know that the most ancient shrines and temples were provided with holes and caverns in the ground and with running underground stream-water.

To conclude a short examination of the name Busa di Manna: busa stands for “basin” in both Trentino and Veneto. Manna is a rather bizarre name for a Dolomitic sinkhole, in fact manna is the definition  of the weird substance miraculously supplied as food to the Israelites in the wilderness, and felt from to sky (Exod. 16). I could not investigate more among the locals, those interviewed failed to provide a valid reason for the name. Of course I don’t mean to rely on the poetic allure of the name manna to confirm my idea. But indisputably this has always been the denomination of the sinkhole, which roughly ( that’s to say natural, not purposely built) appears to offer many interesting features of a good alchemical natural condenser.

Mind that Busa di Manna tends to be bulky snowing already after the full moon of September. By then the cableway has already seasonally closed off, but the hiking can last about three hours from San Martino center, provide you’re decent walkers. This article is tagged with Uncertain Oral Tradition, and no without reason.

  1. The Secret Night Chant of a Stradivarius Tree ;
  2. See also Nuisement and the Sun Resisting Capture , Pietro Perugino and the Lady of the Wind ;
  3. Formation of Extreme Cold-Air Pools in Elevated Sinkholes: An Idealized Numerical Process Study pdf , you can find other interesting studies at Cold-Air-Pool Structure and Evolution in a Mountain Basin: Peter Sinks, Utah and Boundary layer evolution within a canyonland basin, numerical simulations of nocturnal flows and heat budges;
  4. Bacstrom’s Apparatus to Attract Lunar Humididy and Orthelius Commentary on Sendivogius. Chapter 5 :
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Filed Under: Alchemy & Nature Tagged With: Uncertain Oral Traditions

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