Museum visits · Genga · Italy
The Frasassi Caves
an underground hall big enough to hold Milan cathedral whole
The Frasassi Caves were found in 1971 by a group of cavers from Ancona, and the first hall you walk into carries their name: the Abisso Ancona, a void so large that Milan cathedral would fit inside it whole. From there the made-up route runs on for a kilometre and a half among stalactites, columns and pools, and lasts seventy five minutes. This is not a cave for cavers: it is a wide walkway with the lights on, and everyone goes. But it is still the place where, at a certain point, you stop and no longer grasp the scale of what you are looking at.
Getting there
The caves are in the Frasassi gorge, inside the municipality of Genga, on the road that comes down from the Apennines towards Jesi and the coast.
- From Fabriano it is a quarter of an hour, and that is how this visit is done without sleeping inside the gorge: you stay in town and drive up in the morning
- The entrance and the ticket office are down in the valley, and a shuttle takes you up to the caves
- The car park at the ticket office is shared, on gravel, with a wide area set aside for motorhomes: partly shaded, lit, with toilets. Stays are allowed for up to 48 hours
- There is a waste water drain, but it sits in the middle of the car area: at busy times reaching it is awkward, and it is better done early or at the end of the day
Practical information
Duration seventy five minutes inside, plus the shuttle and the wait for your slot: half a day in all. With the Tempio del Valadier next door it becomes a full day.
Price 18 euros, reduced 15, children 6 to 14 years 12 euros
When to go all year, inside it is always 14 degrees
Suitable for anyone. The route is made up, wide and lit, with no narrow stretches. Closed shoes and a fleece are needed even in August: inside it is fourteen degrees and the damp is that of a cave.
Booking the tourist visit cannot be booked by phone. You buy online at tickets.frasassi.com or at the ticket office on the day. The caving routes do want booking, by phone or email.
Contacts
Where it is
Genga · Marche
Notes
- Prices as stated by the official website: full 18 euros, reduced 15, children from 6 to 14 years 12 euros, free under 6 and for people with disabilities
- The two caving routes are another matter: the Blue lasts two hours and costs 40 euros, the Red three hours and costs 50, and both want equipment and booking
- A short way off, in the same gorge, are the Tempio del Valadier and the sanctuary of Santa Maria infra Saxa, wedged into the rock face: they are at 43.402961, 12.954465 and are worth the detour if the day holds up
