Five unmissable stops between art, environment and culture, with the Frasassi Caves at the centre.
From 10 August until 31 December 2023 it is possible to become "Honorary Citizen of Frasassi” thanks to the initiative of the municipality of Genga and the Frasassi Caves Consortium with the “Tourist Passport”.
A real passport that offers an itinerary of five unmissable stops in the area between art, culture and environment will be given to every visitor of the Frasassi Caves.
The stamp at each site will allow you to receive the certificate of Honorary Citizenship of Frasassi at the info point located in the Grotte car park in La Cuna, upon showing your passport.
Together with the passport, each visitor will also receive a detailed tourist map of the area, with the location and all the information on the sites present in the immense historical, naturalistic and artistic heritage of Frasassi.
“The Tourist Passport was created to promote the art and culture of the territory and coordinate the most prestigious attractive sites of Genga in a single shared project that revolves around the Frasassi Caves – declared the mayor of Genga Marco Filipponi – The idea to create honorary citizens of Frasassi with real citizenship certificates and passports allows us to personally involve visitors and make them feel part of our territory".
The certificate of Honorary Citizen of Frasassi will be personally signed by the mayor of Genga Marco Filipponi and will be given to visitors in a fine handcrafted paper box from the Cartiera Manualis of Fabriano, together with a very precious watermark representing the Temple of Valadier, a high quality goldsmith's product, symbol of the territory. A small surprise will also be delivered to all the children.
The stages included are:
– The Frasassi Caves
With a 1 kilometer route open to the public and accessible to all, the karst site of the Frasassi Caves, a strategic and extraordinary attractor of visitors and tourists for the entire Marche region, is one of the grandest and most fascinating underground itineraries in the world , where it is possible to travel through the millions of years of the past and discover the history of the evolution of life on the planet.
– The hermitage of Santa Maria Infra Saxa and the Sanctuary of Madonna di Frasassi.
The hermitage-oratory of Santa Maria Infra Saxa is a small building leaning against the rock face, half suspended on the overhanging cliff. Next to Santa Maria infra Saxa, in the center of the cave, stands the Madonna di Frasassi Sanctuary, also called the Temple of Valadier as it is attributed to the architect Giuseppe Valadier. In neoclassical style, it was commissioned in 1819 by Cardinal Annibale della Genga, the future Pope Leo XII, and inaugurated in 1828.
– Abbey of San Vittore delle Chiuse
Right at the entrance to the Frasassi Gorge is the Abbey of San Vittore delle Chiuse, one of the most important Benedictine monasteries in central Italy, founded in the XNUMXth century and built of limestone blocks. In front of the Abbey we find the Roman Bridge over the Sentino river, where a spa station stood in Roman times, the source of which is still used in the current modern spa centre.
– Speleo-Paleontological and Archaeological Museum of San Vittore
Next to the Abbey is the suggestive Speleo-Paleontological and Archaeological Museum of San Vittore which was specifically established to house an ichthyosaur fossil found in 1976 in the municipality of Genga. Inside it is also possible to appreciate models that illustrate the phenomenon of karstism, the fossil sediments found in the surrounding area and archaeological finds, including some cinerary urns, dating back to the Final Bronze Age.
– Genga Castle
Genga is a small medieval village, carefully renovated, birthplace of Pope Leo XII of the Counts of Genga. The solid defensive walls of the medieval castle are still preserved today, inside which it is possible to appreciate a small group of houses built directly on the rock. The castle opens onto a wonderful viewpoint overlooking the valley.
– Museum of Art, History and Territory
In the middle of the Genga castle, the «Art History Territory» Museum is located, which tells the extraordinary history of this town. Inside you can admire, in the prehistoric area, the copy of the famous Venus of Frasassi and, in the historical-artistic area, works and artefacts dating from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth century. Among these, the precious works on wood by the fifteenth-century painter Antonio da Fabriano stand out, influenced by Piero dalla Francesca. To conclude, the splendid neoclassical statue of the Madonna and Child, loving mother and protector, originally placed in the church commissioned by Pope Leo XII inside the Cave of the Blessed Virgin of Frasassi.
– Pierosara
Pierosara is a medieval fortress, Castrum Petrosum or Castel Petroso, which stands in a strategic position on a hill close to two gorges, that of Frasassi and della Rossa, founded before 1000 AD. Initially dependent on the Abbey of San Vittore, in 1212 it was subjected to Fabriano, while maintaining great autonomy and sovereignty over a vast area of the surrounding territory, until 1809 with the formation of the Kingdom of Italy.
Cristina Amici degli Elci
