Cupra Marittima canyon, wilderness diving a stone’s throw from the coast

Places where “citizens” can enjoy the desert, the mix of trees, ferns, rocks without the “infection” of man, archetypes of what should be the original environment, the world without social concepts IS becoming rarer and economically can drown in the breath of Nature . One of these places is a few kilometers from the Adriatic coast tunnels

Of Gabriele Vecchioni

(Claudio Ricci collaborated – photo by Claudio Ricci and Nazzareno Cesari)

Cronache Picene has prepared articles dedicated to the current landscape of the Picene mountains that have been humanized several times. So let’s do justice to those “wild” people who are still in our areas. With Claudio Ricci, a tireless hiker, we go to discover one of the canyons of the Cupra mountains, a canyon with an unforgettable name, Fosso di Cacarabbia.

The canyon, carved out of the sandbanks by the stream of the same name, is also known as Canyon di Piazza di Coso (it is a toponym, the name of the outer district of Cupra Marittima) and is Website of Community Interest (Sic) even if there are no tables on the website confirming membership of the Natura 2000 Network; on the other hand, there is no table in this matter even in the Pantani di Accumoli, another Sic, better known than our gorge.

A short episode on the Sic Network that, “at the end of selection and selection”, becomes Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). One of the images accompanying the article is a map of the Marche Region with ZSC/SIC areas highlighted.

Although many look at the plans related to the protection of the environment with annoyance, probably because it confuses them with political proposals that do not correspond to their beliefs, the creation of a network of protected areas “satisfies the clear responsibility of the community established in the framework of the United Nations Charter. of biological diversity”. Without dwelling on the creation (slow, often very slow) of the network of Areas of Community Interest, the first step towards the realization of what was said above, we would like to remind you that the Region of Marche also participates in this initiative and one. of the regional SCIs is this gorge (included in the habitat shown as IT5340002 – Woods between Cupramarittima and Ripatransone) near Cupra Marittima, the subject of this article. Unfortunately, with the gorge, a word of Lombard origin, we mean the space of rocks reduced by the adjacent vertical walls, created by regressive erosion (over the river: alive, that is, towards the mountain) due to the current of water.

VALUE – From the city of Cupra Marittima take State Road 16 (Pedaso direction) and then turn towards Contrada San Michele, until you reach a dirt road that will lead to the starting point of the trip, near an abandoned farm. Leave the car in front of the hut with the sign “five lire” (!) and go down the dirt road that first reaches the ditch and then go over the right orography to pass the dam. Here, a few kilometers from the congested Adriatic artery, you quickly enter the “other” world, lost in a dense forest of oaks, hornbeams and other trees, among ferns and hard branches: it is the Canyon of Piazza di Coso, the most famous. like Canal of Cacarabbia, from the name of the stream that “dug” for a while. Before being completely immersed in dense vegetation, a panoramic view towards the nearby hilly villages of Ripatransone (mainland) and Massignano, to the north.

Cupra Canyon it is a canyon dug by a stream in sandstone and pelican deposits (see the picture accompanying the article); the trip, short and without difficulty, is interesting because it allows you to enter an unusual environment, a company of plants similar to the Mediterranean fortress, the kingdom of large bushes. In fact, this is an amazing bush: thorn trees, stracciabraghe (it’s Smilax), ivies, lianas (clematis like vines, which climb along the trunks to reach the light) and poisonous tàmaro (it’s Tamus) are recognizable. for its red fruits. Sometimes, the development of plants with twining stems is “exploding” and harmony (on small surfaces) passes through. At low level, moisture, remnants of fallen stems, mosses and ferns (soil properties, moisture and low light favor their development; Polystichum and lingua cervina are rare).

The path, easy to follow, continues in a wild environment between the sand walls (beside the schedule, after the ditch, there is even a small cave “dug” in the pelitic deposits) and is followed ignoring various side tracks ( service roads ). To reach the most interesting stretch (the narrow canyon of Cacarabbia) continue down the gorge until you reach the previously mentioned lake (in fact, a large pond) and, after a while, you reach the real canyon; on the way out, you cross a wooden bridge, a fixture installed by the cycling association “Picene Rings”. A short path leads to vineyards and uncultivated fields with small patches of trees; the hiking ring ends at a gravel road that takes you back to the starting point; from the road, beautiful views of the villages mentioned above and of Montefiore dell’Aso.

Of course, it is not an aerial ridge route, with unforgettable panoramic views but … along the way and at the end of a walk in a wild environment on dirt roads, paths and singletrack (for mountain bike lovers), written words . and the journalist comes to remember Paolo Rumiz, related to the feeling of “the secret pleasure of the adventure behind the house”, a stone’s throw from everyday life …

WARNING – The bottom of the hole is almost always dry, but, as with all canals that follow an “intermittent” flow of water, it can be slippery: you need to be careful if it rains and it is better to prevent it if the rain is heavy. . L’Adventure takes place in a wild and silent environment, near houses and beside cultivated fields. It’s an easy loop but, like all unmarked hiking itineraries, it presents the risk of “getting lost”. Therefore, if you decide to walk it, you must do so in the company of an expert walker who knows the area and after doing an online search (it is possible to download GPS tracks).

Anyone interested in the site management program (regional but under the responsibility of the regional administration) and the technical and scientific aspects can easily find the material with a simple targeted search online.

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