The Borgio Verezzi Caves were discovered only in 1933, but the locals were well aware of the presence of underground cavities and strange phenomena around them.

For example, the waters of the Battorezza River seemed to disappear in some points of its path, even though the river periodically overflowed and devastated the surrounding fields.

And then there was the lake, at the bottom of a "legendary" cave which was allegedly accessible from under the floor of St. Peter's Church in Borgio, and the so-called Roggetto, a small creek coming out of a crack nearby..