This is the entrance building to the cave of Saint Michael in Minervino (Bari, Puglia - Italy). The atmosphere there is very suggestive and I hope this holds out. It is a place that has probably been frequented since the Neolithic, there are certainly traces of attendance dating back to the Greek age and more markedly to the Roman age. In fact, for example, a statue was found that was supposed to represent the saint, but after a careful analysis it was later attributed to the goddess Minerva (from which the town also takes its name), historical protector of the place, who later became during the Christian period the current saint patron Saint Michael, a saint whose religious patronage hegemony extends throughout the province.
The grass and weeds are scattered and animated with geometry nodes, though I guess I need to explore and work more with it. Assets are from Blenderguru’s Grass Essentials and Vegetation add-on (the trees). Rendered in Cycles at 512 samples.
This is the first test animation I upload on a new channel on youtube. Hope to do many more! 
I have changed very small details compared to the original place and I hope you’ll like the work done so far. If you want to see the actual real-life place you have to simply google ‘Grotta San Michele Minervino’ and check some photos. I will definitely soon do some more renders of the inside of the cave and perhaps another longer e more complete animation.
Enjoy
Main
B&W 1440p
Some 1440p shots with a bit of chromatic aberration on lenses
Short animation
), you’ll see that leaves and branches are well connected to the trunk or to other branches. It’s just that some (branches) are too tiny and from a distant point of view they might appear disconnected, especially with the volumetric atmosphere. If you meant the greeny-yellow leaves floating in the 2 main shots, well they are simply falling 
. It’s just a detail, but I care and next time it will be better! 
