Monte Cucco Park is spread across numerous municipalities in the Umbrian province of Perugia. The natural area spans 105 km². There are two major rivers, the Chiascio and the Sentino, as well as scores of smaller streams. Here are the attractions to see at Monte Cucco Park.
The Monte Cucco Park
Monte Cucco Park is a protected natural area established in 1995. It boasts a rich biodiversity, with enormous forests of beech, ash, mountain ash, maples, and oaks, large meadows, and a wide variety of flowers, including orchids. The wildlife includes the wolf, the wild cat, and the most common wild boars, hawks, and foxes.
Caves are one among the things to see in Monte Cucco Park. These include the famed Monte Cucco cave, the Sant’Agnese cave, the San Donino cave, and the Bianca cave. Other attractions in Monte Cucco Park include the Rio Freddo gorge, the Scirca springs, the abbey of Santa Maria di Sitria, and the San Girolamo hermitage.
Where is it in Monte Cucco Park?
Monte Cucco Park is located in Umbria region and contains the slopes of Mount Cucco, a summit in the Umbria-Marche Apennines that stands 5137 feet high. The area is part of one of Italy’s major karst systems. The park includes the lands of the municipalities of Costacciaro, Fossato di Vico, Sigillo, Gubbio, Gualdo Tadino, Scheggia, and Pascelupo. Mount Cucco’s main summit is a limestone peak known as the “Calcare Massiccio del Monte Cucco“.
Monte Cucco’s History
Sedimentary rocks of marine origin that date back to the Jurassic period formed the Mount Cucco. The relief originated around 210 million years ago, when the Tethys was still a shallow sea teeming with life. The gradual buildup of marine animals’ remains contributed to the formation of a sequence of sedimentary rocks. In fact, Upper Jurassic fossils are extremely abundant. The fossils are currently on display at the Costacciaro Museum.
From the 10th to 4th century BC, Monte Cucco was under the control of the Umbrian people, who had their capital in Gubbio. This Italic people constructed the Temple of Jupiter Pennino, one of the most important Umbrian-Roman sanctuaries along the Via Flaminia. Today, it has vanished entirely.
From the Middle Ages to the present time
In 1291, the Università Uomini Originari di Costacciaro acquired the Monte Cucco Park area as private property. For more than seven centuries, the land was passed down to the direct descendants of the families who held it. They established the fund by purchasing various lands from the local feudal lords. Fortunately, this land still exists and has helped to protect the mountain from unauthorized building in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Monte Cucco cave
The eponymous cave is one of the things to see in the Monte Cucco Park. It is one of Italy’s largest caverns. In fact, it is 35 kilometers long and approximately one kilometer deep. The cave has four entrances, one of which may be easily seen from the valley below. For centuries, the locals have known about this cave.
The Monte Cucco cave was produced by karst phenomena that terminated approximately 300,000 years ago. Since then, nothing has changed. The first official explorer was Ludovico Santacroce, a soldier from Fabriano. When he descended inside the cave in 1551, he carved his name and the date on one of the walls. However, another engraving shows that he was not the first explorer.
Another engraving, dated 1499, tells us that an unidentified pioneer ventured into the earth’s bowels. Between 1883 and 1892, the first serious scientific expeditions took place. Since 2009, fitted pathways allow access to ordinary visitors.
Cave description
A system of stairs and walkways go down into the Monte Cucco cave. Inside, there are a series of tunnels and labyrinths with stalactites and stalagmites. The trail, which runs horizontally across the mountain, features a variety of landscapes and spaces. We remember the majestic Cathedral, the Margherita Room, the Fountain Room, and the Becco Room. The intriguing Secret Passage and Terminal Room can be found at the end of the route.
Information on visiting the Monte Cucco Cave
Visits to the Monte Cucco Cave are completely guided, and you can pick from three distinct paths. The trips are not recommended for anyone who are not physically fit or for youngsters under the age of eight. The tours range in duration from two to five hours.
Guided excursions begin at the Casina delle Guide in Pian di Monte. The temperature within the cave is around 6 degrees, and the humidity is nearly 100%. As a result, it is recommended to dress in layers and in a mountain style.
The routes through the cave
- The Discovery Route begins at the Pian di Monte car park, at the east gate. You descend down the Miliani Well and follow an internal trail with stairs and walkways. They approach the Cathedral and Margherita Hall. Then there is Becco Hall. The expedition lasts approximately 2-3 hours.
- Crossing Route: begins at the east entrance and the Miliani Well. Following the same route as before, the visit proceeds to the Fountain Hall. It travels to the Secret Passage and the Terminal Hall before returning up through an 8-meter well. The trek concludes at a natural viewpoint overlooking the Apennine summits. You return to Pian di Monte via high-altitude pathways. The excursion lasts approximately 4-5 hours.
- Adventure Route. There are several speleological excursions available for skilled tourists. The tours last roughly 5 hours.
Things to see in the Monte Cucco Park
Rio Freddo Canyon
The Rio Freddo Canyon is one of the must-see attractions in Monte Cucco Park. It is a deep and massive canyon with a stream that begins in the Park’s heart, at the Fonte dell’Acqua Fredda. It appears to be a typical stream that flows through a huge beech woodland in its early stages. At the Porraia Pass, it transforms into a canyon with vast limestone banks.
The canyon is 3 kilometers long and sometimes reaches a depth of 200 meters. The second stretch is much more stunning. The creek generates numerous tiny lakes, and there are fortification remnants as well as the San Girolamo Hermitage. It was built in 1000 and looks out over a granite face that is over 328 feet tall.
The Santa Maria di Sitria Abbey
The Abbey of Santa Maria di Sitria is located in the hamlet of Isola Fossara. This temple of worship dates from the second decade following the year 1000. It was established by Saint Romualdo, the founder of the renowned Camaldoli monastery. The abbey is Romanesque in style with Gothic characteristics. The apse features a 17th-century mural by an unnamed artist. The typical crypt features a polished vault with a granite column and capital. These architectural elements date back to the Roman era.
Next to the crypt lies Saint Romualdo’s little cell, which served as his jail for six months. In fact, the other monks confined him here. You can arrange a visit to the Abbey of Santa Maria di Sitria by contacting the current owners, the Camaldolese Benedictine monks of Fonte Avellana.
Monte Cucco Forest
The Monte Cucco forest is a centuries-old beech wood with several routes leading to natural discoveries and things to see in Monte Cucco Park. One of the most lovely pathways is the round route through the woods. Trail number 229 begins at the “Da Tobia” hotel in Val di Ranco and goes to trail number 225. It leads to the fascinating “Madre dei Faggi” woodland, which contains some centuries-old trees.
After walking for a kilometer, you arrive at the Fonte dell’Acqua Fredda. After crossing the stream, proceed to the intersection of trails 225 and 242. Continue on path 275, which will lead you to Passo Porraia. Trail 229 will instead return you to the beginning position.
Monte Cucco Park Museum
The Monte Cucco Park Museum covers several territory-related subjects. In fact, the exhibition itinerary depicts the formation and geology of the limestone rocks of Monte Cucco and the Umbria-Marche Apennines. The multimedia stations and manufacturing reproductions directly immerse the visitor in the route. Much of the show is focused on the concept of water, beginning with the development of caverns and the gathering locations for underground water.
In addition to the fossil show, three-dimensional models are used to teach visitors about the drainage system of underground rivers. A section depicts the ancient animals that inhabited the region during the last Ice Age. A room addresses the topic of man’s presence in Monte Cucco caves, featuring Paleolithic animal and artifact finds.
St. Agnes Grotto
The Grotto of St. Agnes is located on the western side of Monte Cucco Park, in the municipality of Costacciaro. It is located within one of the largest and oldest beech forests in the area. So, you can get there by taking the trail with signage along the road to Pian delle Macinare for about a kilometer. The cave boasts a spacious and beautiful entry hall with a rocky vault. Dry stone walls can be traced back to a 12th-century hermit cell that served as the young Agnese’s retreat.
Today, the Grotto of St. Agnes houses a site of Christian prayer, which has existed since the early 15th century. A stone structure can be found at the cave’s middle. It was likely a big holy water font or altar basis.
Agnese’s Story
The Grotto of St. Agnes is one of the most noteworthy attractions in Monte Cucco Park. Agnese was a young shepherdess from the village of Costacciaro. She was the protagonist in a terrible story. In fact, despite her father’s prohibition, the young girl would go to this cave in the middle of the woods and pray. One day, however, she was surprised by a shepherd, and the young girl’s appeals to conceal the secret were futile.
After being informed by the shepherd, her father went Agnese, tied her to the horse, and dragged her all the way to the hamlet, inflicting true martyrdom on her. But, before dying, Agnese blasted the man who had deceived her, saying, “I hope that you can petrify yourself, together with your sheep and your dog, with the knife and the bread in your hands!” With these remarks, the shepherd and his sheep both turned to stone. Even today, the story of Saint Agnese is commemorated by the existence of a particular rock. It appears to have a human shape, and many believe it is the body of a shepherd.
Hermitage of San Girolamo
The hermitage of San Girolamo is located on the eastern edge of Monte Cucco Park. So, the building appears on a limestone cliff, between sheer cliffs and caves. These caves include the cells of medieval hermits. The structure is Romanesque in design, but it has been renovated multiple times over the years to meet the needs of hermits. The first person to dwell there was Blessed Tommaso da Costacciaro, who died there in 1337. It was a significant cultural and religious center, but by the end of the sixteenth century, the hermitage of San Girolamo had been nearly abandoned.
In fact, the soil was prone to landslides, and robbers resided nearby, taking sanctuary in the caves. For these reasons, Pope Sixtus V expelled the thieves away from the hermitage, and the monks remained there at least until 1974, when the last monk, Don Mariano Kizek, died. After decades of disuse, the structure was reclaimed in 1992. Today, the Camaldolese hermits of Monte Corona maintain the building, which cannot be visited.
Things to see in the Monte Cucco Park Gallery
Monte Cucco Park video
Map of the Monte Cucco Park
Costaggiaro – monte Cucco weather
Meteo Costacciaro
Tourist Information Offices Near Monte Cucco Park
The Monte Cucco Regional Park encompasses the Umbrian communities of Scheggia and Pascelupo, Costacciaro, Sigillo, and Fossato di Vico.
- Sigillo – Headquarters of the Monte Cucco Park. Open Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 1 pm. Contacts: +39 075 824 1569.
- Scheggia and Pascelupo – Municipal Infopoint in Via Sentino in Scheggia. Contacts: +39 075 925 9723.
- Costacciaro – Municipal Infopoint in Via Valentini, 31. Contacts: +39 075 917 1046, +39 329 3815580
info@grottamontecucco.umbria.it. - Fossato di Vico – Municipal Infopoint in Piazza Umberto. Contacts: +39 075 919 591
infopointfossato@alice.it
