Guides to the area
Frasassi Caves
Half an hour from the Casale, just over the border into the Marche, are the Frasassi Caves. You visit them with a guide, in a little over an hour, along an equipped route that anyone who walks without difficulty can manage. And it is the right outing even when it rains.
Distance from the Casale
30 minutes.
Parking
At the ticket office car park, in San Vittore delle Chiuse: a shuttle takes you to the entrance.
How long
75 minutes for the visit; a whole day with the abbey and Fabriano.
Tips
Inside it is 14 degrees: a sweatshirt even in summer, shoes that do not slip. Closed a few days in December and from 7 to 30 January.
The visit
You leave the car at the ticket office car park, in San Vittore delle Chiuse, and a free shuttle takes you to the entrance. From there you go into a purpose-built tunnel more than two hundred metres long, closed by sealed doors that keep the cave at its own temperature. Then the real cave begins: about a kilometre and a half of route through enormous halls, including the Abisso Ancona and the Grotta del Vento, and you come back the same way.
Visits leave in groups, with the cave guides. The route is equipped, with walkways and several flights of steps.
Good to know
Inside it is 14 degrees in every season and very humid: you need a sweatshirt even in summer, and comfortable shoes that do not slip, because the route is slippery in places. The visit is not recommended for people with heart problems. Wheelchairs can reach only the first hall; those who walk with difficulty can reach the second. Pushchairs also stop at the first hall: for the youngest you need a baby carrier.
Tickets are sold on the caves' website: with an online ticket you go straight to the shuttle, without stopping at the ticket office.
The Frasassi Caves · tickets at tickets.frasassi.com
For those who want more
Besides the tourist route, the caves run caving tours in parts closed to the public, with a guide and equipment. These are booked by phone, on +39 0732 90090.
Nearby, and on the way back
The Abbey of San Vittore alle Chiuse
A short walk from the ticket office is the Romanesque abbey of San Vittore. Its buildings also house the Speleopalaeontological Museum. Nearby there is a park with playground and benches.
The Temple of Valadier
In the Frasassi gorge is the Temple of Valadier, with the Hermitage of Santa Maria Infra Saxa beside it. You reach it on foot. It is currently closed: ask us before you go whether it has reopened.
The Paper and Watermark Museum, in Fabriano
On the way back you pass through Fabriano, the city of paper. The museum is in a former Dominican convent, and inside there is a reconstruction of a medieval paper mill where the master papermakers make paper by hand in front of you. The guided tour lasts about an hour and is included in the ticket; it is best to book it, it is free. Afterwards, anyone who wants can make their own sheet in the workshop. It is closed on Mondays.
In practice, from the Casale
When
They are open all year, apart from a few days in December and some weeks in January: check the dates on their website. On weekdays and out of season there are fewer people.
A whole day
The caves in the morning, the abbey before you leave, Fabriano and the Paper Museum in the afternoon. In the rain it is the right trip: underground and in the museum the weather does not matter.
And in the evening
You are back in half an hour. Dinner at the Casale is served between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm, by reservation.
The visit is run by the Frasassi Caves: you can book directly with them, or we can book for you. You will find prices and times on their website.
Half an hour's drive, and dinner ready when you get back.
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