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The Frasassi Caves and Genga

The Grotte di Frasassi is a large cave system in Marche. (Site #21 on the map)This is a mountainous area, with a deep river ravine. It is difficult to tell, but there is a slight gap between the right cliff and the left.

Frasassi ravine

The entrance to the caves makes it obvious that there is room above and below.

Frasssi Grotto entrance

According to the sign out front, the Grotte di Frasassi extend for 30km (18.6 miles) and through 8 geological levels.The guided tour goes over walkways that have been built in the caves. The walkways themselves are impressive.

Walkway paths in Frasassi

Here is a video of the scene above.

link to video

Of course, photographs can't convey the feel and depth of a cave system like this. Despite that, it is difficult to narrow down which pictures to share here. Hopefully the following pictures will give you some appreciation for the caves. There were both grand scenes like the one above, and smaller scale elements.

In the Frasassi Caves

They had lights, of course, since we were far underground.

In the Frasassi Caves

The lights showed how translucent some of the features are.

In the Frasassi Caves

The floor of that section almost looks like water, but you can see the textures in it. It is actually a mineral surface.

Inside the Frasassi Caves

There was liquid water in the caves, though. This can give some nice reflections.

Reflections in the Frasassi Caves

Oh no, the cave has a witch!! The shadow shows well on the left. On the right, you can see the formation that casts the shadow.

The witch of the Frasassi Caves

We were disturbing the witch's beauty rest; this was the day after Halloween.Click on the picture below for a video version (9 seconds)

link to video

You can see there is a great variety in the forms taken by the minerals and rocks. These 'blades' look like they could be the inspiration for anart exhibit.

Inside frasassi Caves

Again, light can be used to create different effects.

Inside the Frasassi Caves

Click on the photo below for a video that shows some nice variety of the cave terrain. At about 15 seconds, you can see that the cave goes much deeper in spots. Then the video continues with a pan showing some other features.

link to video

Here is another picture showing the walkway, this time with people on it. This section is smaller than the one shown in the earlier picture but still, well, cavernous.

Walkway inside Frasassi Caves

We took the general tour. They also have a couple of specialty tours, where you can go into non-walkway sections of the caves. They provide special gear, and claustrophobics need not apply. This group was on their way to the longest version of these tours.

spelunkers in Frasassi Caves

If you are a spelunker, the caves would seem very inviting!

Inside Frasassi Caves

This next picture shows another type of surface found in the caves:

Inside Frasassi Caves

And another spot, with a grander view, where this surface is found. You can see there is some liquid water here.

Inside Frasassi Caves

The video below is over 2 minutes, but might be fun to watch if you have the time. Paul walks through a small section of the caves while taking the video. (Click on the picture below to go to the video.)

link to video

Before we leave the caves, what would one of our trip reports be without at least one more abstract photograph?

Inside Frasassi Caves

 

Admission to the caves includes admission to the Genga Museum. (location 22 on the map) So we headed out looking for the museum, which is about 5 miles from the cave parking area. It was past lunch, so we were also looking for someplace to eat. There wasn't much in the direction we were heading, so it was a happy moment when we found this little pizzeria that was open.

Pizzaria Da Bosio outside of Genga

There were a few people finishing their lunches when we went inside. The waitress (who spoke no English) came over, and we told her we would like pizza. "No, we don't have pizza. The ovens aren't even on." Paul and Anne looked at the menu. Yup, it says pizzeria. But they don't have pizza. So Paul ordered ravioli, and Anne ordered grilled vegetables.

Paul in Pizzaria Da Bosio

We told Francesco this story that evening, and he said of course they don't have pizza. It was lunch. Pizza is only for supper. We continue to learn! This was on All Saints Day; the restaurant had a cute pumpkin display out front. All Saints Day is a holiday in Italy.

Carved Pumpkins

After lunch, we drove up to Genga (pronounced jen-ga). And we literally mean up, since it is another mountain village.

Video of road up to Genga (picture is link):

Link to video of drive up to Genga

It is nestled within the mountains, rather than on the edge of the mountain range, so the view is different than the other villages we showed you. It was rainy that day (which is why we did the caves) and you can see the dampness in the public parking area.

Genga parking area view of mountains

This next video was taken just around the corner of the building in the above photo, and features the wall. Note that Paul had a little trouble remembering the name of this village, which is pronounced "jen-ga".

link to video

We will follow that with another video that shows a car driving on the (fortunately 1-way) narrow street.

video link

One very interesting feature of the town of Genga is that they build the town directly into the hilltop. There was a sign quoting the librarian of Pope Leo XII: "... the ground it stands on is 'la genga', that is limestone .... The houses have no foundations, rather, cut stone is used for the walls of some buildings." One of the buildings have some of the brick facing cleared away to allow a view of this feature.

The hill as foundation to a building in Genga

This next video gives a view of a different spot showing the in-the-mountain foundations, as well as a view of the main square.

video link

The librarian of Pope Leo XII likely had reason to visit Genga, since Pope Leo XII was from Genga. They are proud to have a Pope from this small village. They have a separate chapel area dedicated to the Pope. And the Genga museum, not surprisingly, has a painting of Leo XII (born Annibale della Genga).

Painting of Pope Leo XII

The museum tour starts with much older items, though. The oldest artifact in the museum is a small (less than 4 inches) figurine. It is a Paleolithic "Venus" statue, carved between 28,000 and 20,000 years ago. According to the sign "The statues were clearly linked to the cult of fertility and they may have been intended to represent idols (goddesses) or amulets (good luck charms) specially made to encourage and protect female reproduction, and used during ceremonies and magical-religious rituals."

Venus genre statuette

The museum tour ends with a marble statue, originally placed in the same grotto that the Venus statue was found in, of Mary and Jesus. It was housed in a little temple there, commissioned by Pope Leo XII (before he was Pope). We aren't positive if this statue is the original and a reproduction is still in the grotto, or visa versa.

Madonna and Child statue

We will leave this section of our story with some of those mountain views that were mentioned earlier. First a view over a farm, looking Southwest.

View near Genga

With the off and on rain, the clouds were low and outlined the hills and mountains. This is actually on the next hill over, in Monticelli.

View near Genga

Even in this area, there are many cultivated fields in Marche.

View in the Genga area

 

We really enjoyed the Grotte di Frasassi, Genga, and the surrounding area.

 

Updated July 2020