Gubbio district - The massif of Mount Cucco

Eugubino

The massif of Mount Cucco
At the border between Umbria and the Marches there is a mountainous relief which is easy to pock out: the top of Mount Cucco stands out on the undulatory chain if the Apennines of Umbria and the Marches, preserving remarkable naturalistic treasures.
Thick woods of secular beeches cover both the western and the eastern slope of the mountain. The wild animals are not numerous but particularly interesting. The are numerous streams, which flow down the eastern side, unusual for a calcareous mountain; Rio Freddo, a proper river, runs down the mountain and flows into the river Santino.
The carts springs are particularly important and are among the largest in central Italy: Scirca, the Prigioni, the gorge of Rio Freddo, the Lecce take millions of cubic metres of water to the Chiascio and the Sentino rivers, feeding the waterworks of Perugia and Arcevia. But the most important features of the massif of mount Cucco are the imposing, extended underground karst formation, real worlds closed in the core of the mountain, dug for millions of years by streams swallowed in the bowels of the earth. The caves inside Mount Cucco, 922 metres deep and 27 km long (and the exploration continues and every year new galleries and new pits are discovered).
The first part, easy also for the amateur, is a succession of majestic galleries and halls, rich in stalactites and stalagmites, curtains, drapes, lakes and streams. Going down a few hundred metres, with the helps of special lights, is like an adventurous voyage to the centre of the earth, in the reign of eternal darkness: it is a really worthy experience!
Recent explorations have revealed new caves of exceptional interest and beauty: the cave of Faggetto Tondo, the chasm Boccanera, the pit of Vacella, the abyss of Boschetto all prove ancient geological phenomenon; they still bear the signs of events which took place millions of years ago and provide clear clues to build up the troubled history of our Apennines.
In the caves of Mount Cucco speleology is not only a sport or an adventure, but also and mainly an intellectual and scientific activity. Pure adventure is, on the contrary, the crossing of the gorge of Rio Freddo, an imposing canyon dug by the tireless stream in the white limestone for over 4 km. One follows the route of the water, between two high overhanging walls, going over waterfalls and lakes. The environment is untouched by man.
But man has left the mark of his creativity on the slopes of the mountain, as the beautiful villages which surround it still testify. The religious buildings connected with the developments of monasticism around the 1000 deserve particular attention. The abbeys of Fonte Avellana, Sitria, S. Emiliano in Congiuntoli, the hermitage of S. Girolamo are unique monuments, which show the high level of cultural development of the ancient populations of the Apennines.