Il Cristallo d'Abruzzo — August with the Wolves

The village born from crystal

Gissi, in the province of Chieti, in the heart of the Abruzzo Frentani Mountains, is the only village in the world built entirely of selenite gypsum, the moonstone that the Greeks named after the goddess Selene. This geological singularity inspired the nickname that gives the event its name: Il Cristallo d'Abruzzo (The Crystal of Abruzzo). The houses, cellars, and walls of the old town stand on an imposing gypsum cliff overlooking the middle Sinello river valley, and legend has it that the ancient selenite castle, which passed to Antonio Caldora in 1447, would shine from a great distance on sunny days.

August with the Wolves

Every summer, the speleo-archaeological association I Lupi del Gesso (The Wolves of the Gypsum), together with the Custodi di Gypsum citizens' committee, brings the village to life with the Agosto con i Lupi initiative, the heart of the project to promote the Cristallo d'Abruzzo. It is a guided tour that descends into the depths of the village, through museum-cellars, tunnels, and chambers carved into the rock, to tell the story of how the people of Gissi have lived inside and beneath the gypsum for centuries.

A journey through memory and identity

The itinerary features a series of historical and anthropological insights—brought to life by local scholars such as historian Angelo Ciccarone, author of Nostra Gypsum—and recreations of ancient community life, including a small medieval-inspired banquet. The project, conceived by president Antonio Ottaviano, aims to transform the village into a Gypsum Museum Village with its "Way of the Cellars," recovering underground spaces as places for aging cured meats and refining wines.

The flavors of the gypsum

The visit concludes with a taste of local food and wine: a sampling of vino cotto gissano, the ancient wine of the gypsum, accompanied by focaccia sfogliata al peperone, a local specialty. It is a way to connect the geological and architectural heritage with Abruzzo's rural traditions.

The Crystal Caves

The subsoil of Gissi holds some of the largest gypsum cavities ever discovered in Abruzzo: the Grotta del Lupo, which hosts one of the largest bat colonies in Italy with about three thousand specimens of six different species, the Grotta del Cristallo, the Grotta della Zita, and the Abisso del Gesso. The village is part of a Site of Community Importance, and the event is also an opportunity for naturalistic and speleological discovery of this rare ecosystem.

An identity-defining event for Gissi and Abruzzo

More than just a guided tour, Il Cristallo d'Abruzzo has become the main identity-defining event for the Municipality of Gissi over the years and one of the most original cultural projects in the Frentani Mountains, capable of restoring to the community and visitors a sense of belonging to a unique place in Abruzzo.