The Abisso del Vento, the most significant cavity in the Pizzo Carbonara massif, is the most extensive cave in the Madonie; it is located in the Isnello territory, on the northwestern slope of Cozzo Balatelle (843m above sea level).
The first news about its existence were found in a writing by Cristoforo Grisanti, a scholar of Italian folklore and a native of Isnello; he writes that the locality San Giovanni south of the small Madonie town, it is almost always possible to hear, resting the ear on the rock,a "roar" due to the flow of water.
In reality, the noise was due to the flow of air through the initial tunnel of the cave at great speed, to this characteristic is due its name.
The discovery of the cave dates back to 1972, when some members of the speleological group of the CAI of Cefalù found the entrance.
Initially, when the extent of the cavity had not yet been discovered, the Abyss of the Wind had archaeological prominence because of the discovery, in the initial environments at a depth of about 8 meters, of a kind of tomb with a few human remains and artifacts dating back to the Eneolithic period.
The Abisso del Vento, with its development of about 4 km and a depth of just over 200 meters, turns out to be one of the most complex cavities in Sicily.
Numerous forms of concretions adorn the interior spaces of the cave, including stalactites, stalagmites, impressive calcitic flows, curtains, columns, dikes and basins, varying in color between white, yellow and pink.
Some concretions have peculiar shapes, such as the one found in the Rat Branch, which takes, indeed, its name from a calcitic formation that perfectly depicts the head of a mouse.
Due to its characteristics and difficulty, the cave can only be visited by well-prepared technical and physical cavers. In addition, the entrance to the cave is located on private property.