Stiffe Caves, Abruzzo, Italy

2023

The Stiffe caves are a complex of karst caves located near Stiffe, in the territory of the municipality of San Demetrio ne' Vestini (AQ), in Abruzzo, included within the Sirente-Velino regional natural park. Testimony of a unique active resurgence in Italy, made accessible to the public since 1991, today they constitute one of the main naturalistic sites of the L'Aquila area, recording over 40,000 visitors annually. The Stiffe caves represent one of the best-known karst phenomena in central Italy. The complex has been used since the Bronze Age even if archaeological remains have been found inside it dating back to the Neolithic and Eneolithic. The presence of an underground stream that gave rise to the complex led, in 1907 and on the initiative of the Marquis Alfonso Cappelli, to the construction of a hydroelectric plant of which some remains are still visible today near the entrance to the cavities. In 1956, when the plant was dismantled, the first speleological explorations began; after a first visit in 1957, the following year it was the Marche Speleological Group of Ancona that went beyond the first natural siphon. Subsequently, the Roman Speleological Group and, starting from the eighties, the Aquilano Speleological Group continued the first exploration attempts. The speleological excursions were then followed by a process of valorisation of the site which led to the opening of the complex to the public in 1991. In 1994 a mixed group of speleologists from L'Aquila and France managed to access for the first time the unexplored area after the first waterfall while in 1996 the speleology museum named after Vincenzo Rivera was opened. A second extension of the tourist route, up to the current length of about 700 m, was made in 2007 with the opening of the second waterfall to visitors, while the extension of the explored part of the cavity exceeds one kilometre. From 1996 to 2018 the site was managed by the public-private company Progetto Stiffe S.p.A. while it is currently managed directly by the Municipality of San Demetrio ne' Vestini. The 2009 earthquake led to a closure of the caves for safety reasons; the complex was only reopened to the public in 2011.

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