Top 4 Caves in Ascoli Piceno

Mount Sibilla, which gives its name to the entire Monti Sibillini group, is known for the so-called Grotta della Sibilla, a cave carved into the rock near its summit. According to an ancient medieval legend, the cave was the access point to the underground paradise kingdom of Queen Sibilla or the Apennine Sibyl, a sorceress, enchantress, and seer who lived there with a court of ladies identified by popular tradition as "fairies" and who possessed supernatural knowledge and could provide prophecies and revelations. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the fame of the Grotta della Sibilla attracted wandering knights, nobles, scholars, the curious, practitioners of magic/alchemy, and people interested in the occult from all over Europe. The remains of the cave's vestibule, which collapsed between 1953 and 1968, after a long history of expeditions to inspect its cavities, can be reached on the path leading to the summit of the Mount, on the meadow to the east of the plateau, past the so-called "Corona della Sibilla", a red-colored calcarenite rock shelf over 5 meters high that surrounds the summit at an altitude of about 2000 meters.

Il Tempietto di Sant’Emidio alle Grotte was built in a secluded, slightly hilly location, but still very close to the urban area of Ascoli Piceno. It was by popular demand that it was decided to entrust the project to the sculptor and architect Giuseppe Giosafatti, who convinced everyone with a very original design, definable in Baroque style, but which goes beyond canonical descriptions. Some define the work, completed and consecrated in 1720, as "little Petra", for the beautiful shape of the facade, but also and above all for its integration into the tuff wall, just as the rock-hewn facades that make up the archaeological site of Petra in Jordan are. The interior, substantially unchanged over the centuries, consists of ancient caves dug into the tuff rock. So, everything starts from the caves. What is known is that, as early as the year 250, there were interconnected caves. The story, partly with legendary aspects, has it that the remains of the current Patron Saint of Ascoli Piceno, Sant’Emidio, were kept in those caves for seven centuries (currently the saint's remains are in the crypt of the city's cathedral). It goes without saying that the place, as it was in its simplicity, with only the addition of a small altar in the main cave, became a place of pilgrimage and an oratory for worship and prayer. Then there was the great earthquake of L'Aquila in 1703, which produced seismic swarms for entire months that also troubled the citizens of Ascoli, albeit without victims. For this reason, due to the conviction that the saint had protected the city, the idea of creating an ex-voto in the burial place, in that tuff oratory, developed. The rest is history.

cave with a very small entrance, pretty, worth a visit.

Ancient 13th-century monastery built in travertine and embedded in the rock. It is located on Colle San Marco, a few kilometers from Ascoli Piceno, and is reachable via a stone staircase that acts as a bridge over a deep moat. Usually open on weekends and holidays during the spring and summer months. The path to get there is also suitable for families.

short but steep path

The evocative and unique Sanctuary Tempietto di Sant'Emidio alle Grotte represents a splendid example of Baroque religious art in the Marche. It is defined as "alle grotte" because it is built against the caves of the ancient Christian necropolis. It is secluded from the urban context, in a place rich in vegetation and silence. Here it is said that the decapitated Saint miraculously brought his own head to be buried. This place of Emidian worship was rediscovered in 1721 when the people of Ascoli wanted to thank their Patron Saint for the protection granted in the earthquake of 1703. The most renowned local architect of the time, Giuseppe Giosafatti, created his project for this purpose: he brought the early Christian caves to light by crumbling the rocky part which was then covered with a delicately sculpted travertine facade. (c) https://letsmarche.it/-/santuario-di-s.-emidio-alle-grotte-2

From the imposing chestnut forest, the main path leads to a clearing located on a huge travertine spur, overlooking the forest. On the rock face, you can see, at the top right, the fascinating structure of the Hermitage of San Marco, a natural cavity closed by a church-shaped building with a bell tower and connected to the path by a stone staircase. The wall, in Romanesque style, is made of ashlar stones and has a single-lancet window and five double-lancet windows. In ancient times, the building housed a convent founded by Cistercian monks at the beginning of the 13th century and consists of two overlapping rooms, connected by a staircase resting on the rock. It is a very “poor” construction, which recalls the Benedictine monastic rule. Inside the Hermitage, it is still possible to find traces of the primitive frescoes painted by the monks on the walls and on the vault of the lower room. On the ceiling of the cave, the splendid “tapestry” of maidenhair fern is noteworthy. The Hermitage of San Marco has been restored and brought back to its maximum splendor. It retains its evocative power that attracts tourists and travelers, lovers of history and nature. (c) https://visitascoli.it/esperienze/colle-san-marco-meta-di-eremiti-nel-corso-dei-secoli/

The evocative and unique Sanctuary Tempietto of Sant'Emidio alle Grotte represents a splendid example of Baroque religious art in the Marche.