Between the years 1883 and 1891, Gian Battista Miliani, a famous paper-manufacturer from Fabriano, but also a skilled mountaineer, initiated the first serious, systematic attempt to explore the Grotto of Monte Cucco. The results of his research were published in 58th edition of the Italian Alpine Club Newsletter in 1891. He gave a detailed account of his explorations, under the heading “The Cavern of Monte Cucco”, accompanied by the very first plan of that part of the grotto which is now a popular destination for cavers.

During that period, Miliani took various people down into the “cavern”, including senators, intellectuals and scientists. Amongst these visitors it is worth mentioning Margherita Traube Mengarini, an expert scholar of natural sciences and a lover of art and philosophy, who was well-known in Roman circles for her strong socialist and feminist views. She became the first woman to visit the Grotto, and one of the most beautiful and spectacular of the chambers in the system now bears her name.

After the end of the C19, many decades passed before anyone returned to explore the numerous, long subterranean passages. It fell to a team of speleologists from Perugia to initiate a new programme of research, beginning in 1950. Using Miliani’s route as a starting point, in 1969 they reached a maximum depth of 922 m., mapping their progress on paper, metre by metre. In this way, they recorded 30 kilometres of galleries, establishing an Italian record for length and depth unsurpassed until the mid 1970’s.