It was two gentlemen afflicted by various health issues who discovered the therapeutic properties of the karstic Giusti Grotto, in Monsummano Terme (Pistoia). They had decided to test the healing powers of the mysterious cave on their own ailing bodies. Here is what a publication from the mid-1800s reported only a few years after the episode (“Esposizione Universale di Vienna”, Treves, Milan 1874):

“Some of the most eager people to enter the grotto, descending repeatedly and extending their stays, were Giovanni Benedetti from Montecatini, who suffered from rheumatisms in his neck, shoulder and right arm, and Antonio Pacini, who had a sprain in his left foot.”