Stiffe's Caves are located on the top
of the ravine overhanging the small village
of Stiffe, San Demetrio nei Vestini's
hamlet.
Approaching the Caves you can admire some
of the most beautiful scenery in Abruzzo:
your sight can wander from the quiet and
soft L'Aquila valley, dominated by the
impressive Gran Sasso's mountain range,
to the rocky face, 100 metres high, overhanging
the Caves' entrance.
Then it can get lost in the ravine's luxuriant
vegetation, where there are so many paths
you can follow.
When you enter the Caves, your senses
suddenly perceive its unusual atmosphere:
the fresh humid air and the play of light
might make your mind think about far-off
times; the drops falling on your body
make you experience how stalactites and
stalagmites were
created; your gaze concentrates on the
water foaming under the footbridge and
then it gets lost far away, trying to
catch every detail of the rock formations.
The stream is your noisy guide from the
Caves' entrance, hiding itself for a bit
so that you can appreciate the silence
and then showing itself again with all
its power, so strong during the winter
season, in a great chamber where it falls
in a roaring cascade with a magnificient
and disquieting view.
L'Aquila, 700 mt.
