Dolomite-like walls in the Gran Sasso park, with the village of Pietracamela
On the northern side of the Gran Sasso, in the province of Teramo, at about 1,450 metres, Prati di Tivo is a mountain resort set in wide meadows and beech woods at the foot of one of the most spectacular mountains of the Apennines: the Corno Piccolo, 2,655 metres, whose sheer limestone walls, pinnacles and ridges look like those of the Dolomites, so much so that it is a classic destination for rock climbers. Behind it rises the Corno Grande, the highest peak of the Apennines. In winter, Prati di Tivo is a ski resort, and a gondola lift climbs to Arapietra, at about 2,000 metres, near the statue of the Madonnina, from where, in summer, numerous trails start, including the path to the Rifugio Franchetti, at the foot of the walls of the Corno Piccolo and the Calderone glacier, and the climbing routes.
A few kilometres below, the village of Pietracamela, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", clings to a rocky slope at about 1,000 metres, with stone houses, lanes and rocks of strange shapes, called "grotte", which incorporate houses and stables. Pietracamela is the village of the first great Abruzzo mountaineers, who opened many of the routes on the Gran Sasso in the early twentieth century, and has been called the "village of the mountain guides". The area is part of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, with chamois, wolves and golden eagles, and in autumn the beech woods turn golden.
Tip: take the gondola to Arapietra and hike to the Rifugio Franchetti; visit Pietracamela on the way down.
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