After breakfast, we leave the hotel rooms and get on the bus for a pleasant walk that starts from the village of Pierosara. In the beginning it was called Castel Petroso (or Castrum Petrosum) due to the rocky nature of the place where it stood, and in medieval times it was an important castle that dominated the entire upper Esino valley.
The story, handed down through the centuries, tells of the ill-fated love between Sara, a beautiful girl from Castel Petroso, and Piero, her betrothed and fellow citizen.
We then move on to the Abbey of San Vittore delle Chiuse. In the municipality of Genga, a few kilometres from the famous Frasassi Caves, in the evocative setting of the Gola della Rossa e di Frasassi Regional Natural Park. This is one of the most important Romanesque churches in the Marche region. A place of worship surrounded by greenery, where architecture and environment blend in total harmony, conveying a sense of profound peace and tranquillity.
We leave the Abbey to visit the last but not least place on our tour, the Valadier Temple. It is a small building set inside a cave lost in the rocky mountains. It was built during the 19th century and its dispersed location has always preserved it from mass tourism.
Its small size makes it a jewel set in the cave walls. The Valadier Temple is a neoclassical church built to honour the Virgin Mary during the 19th century. The façade bears an inscription that reads Refugium Peccatorum, indicating that sinners can go there to ask for forgiveness.
However, these spaces are also famous for giving shelter to believers for several decades. In fact, the caves behind the church also housed the inhabitants of the area who had to flee from the Hungarian invasions during the 10th century and other times of danger. These caves then became a small town, so much so that during the construction of the Valadier temple, remains of bones buried in the surrounding area and ancient structures such as bread ovens and grain stores emerged.
Return to the bus and END OF SERVICES