Frasassi Caves
A Karst Cave System Of About Thirty Kilometres In The Marche, Discovered In 1971, Whose Abisso Ancona Chamber Is Among The Largest In Europe · Genga, Marche
One of the largest cave systems in Europe, found in 1971 by a group of local climbers who dropped a stone into a hole and waited far too long to hear it land. What they had found was the Abisso Ancona, a single chamber roughly two hundred metres long and a hundred and twenty high, big enough that Milan Cathedral would stand inside it with room over. The whole system runs about thirty kilometres through the limestone of a gorge in the Marche, and a little over one kilometre of it is walked on a lit concrete path on the standard tour, past stalactite curtains, a lake with crystallised edges, and columns that took a hundred and ninety thousand years. The air holds about fourteen degrees all year. Longer speleological routes with overalls, helmets and crawling are sold separately for anybody who wants the cave rather than the corridor through it. Book ahead either way: every departure is timed, capped and guided, and weekends sell out.
Largo Leone XII 6, Genga, Marche, 60040, Italy
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: ENTRY IS BY GUIDED TOUR ONLY at fixed departure times through the day, more frequent in summer and at weekends and noticeably sparser in winter, with the last departure well before closing. The caves close on a small number of dates including parts of January and 25 December. Speleological routes run on request and by arrangement. The Temple of Valadier and the gorge are open ground. Confirm the departure timetable and any English-language slots before travelling.