Campo Imperatore, the Little Tibet of Italy

There exists a corner of Italy where the horizon opens into a vastness so profound it takes your breath away, where silence is not a mere absence of noise, but a tangible presence, charged with ancient echoes and the primordial force of the elements. This place is Campo Imperatore, the most majestic plateau of the Apennines, the wild and pulsating heart of the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.
Nestled at an altitude ranging from 1,800 to 2,200 metres, this immense plain, over 25 kilometres long, has been evocatively nicknamed "Little Tibet" for its ability to transport the visitor to an alternative dimension. Its barren landscapes, shaped by ice and wind, its crystalline light that ignites the Dolomitic ridges of the Gran Sasso, and that sense of solemn isolation create a unique atmosphere, more akin to the Himalayan highlands than to the green hills of the peninsula.
Visiting Campo Imperatore means undertaking a journey for the soul, an experience that challenges the perception of space and invites a slower, more authentic rhythm.

The Iconic Places of Campo Imperatore

The grandeur of Campo Imperatore reveals itself through a series of iconic places that are much more than simple attractions: they are stages of a secular pilgrimage into nature and history.
The undisputed symbol of this landscape is the Albergo di Campo Imperatore, a white, square rationalist-style building that seems to emerge from the ground like a spaceship landed in a primitive world. Built in the 1930s, this hotel is a monument to Italian history, known for having been, in 1943, the isolated, gilded prison of Benito Mussolini. His rescue by the German paratroopers of Otto Skorzeny is an episode that cemented this place in history books. Today, even just pausing on its square, perhaps sipping a coffee while your gaze roams freely towards the Corno Grande, means breathing air heavy with the past, suspended between the dramatic human events and the eternal majesty of nature.

The Corno Grande itself, at 2,912 metres, represents the most coveted and majestic peak in the entire Apennines. For many hikers, reaching its summit is a rite of passage, a feat that requires commitment and preparation, but rewards with a view that, on the clearest days, can stretch to the Adriatic Sea. The plateau is the privileged starting point for this ascent, with trails climbing through scree slopes and ridges, offering ever-widening views of what seems to be the roof of the world. Just below the summit, clinging to its walls, survives the Calderone Glacier, a glacial remnant unique in the Apennines and considered the southernmost in Europe. Its presence, although increasingly threatened by climate change, adds a further element of uniqueness to this high-altitude environment, recalling the ice ages that forged these places.

But Campo Imperatore is not just history and mountaineering. It is also a wide-open window onto the universe. The Campo Imperatore Astronomical Observatory, with its characteristic white dome, is one of Italy's most important research facilities. The exceptional quality of the sky, clear and far from any light pollution, makes it an ideal place for stargazing. Participating in one of the public evenings organised by the INAF is an experience that unites science and wonder: looking through a powerful telescope at the rings of Saturn, the craters of the Moon, or distant nebulae, at over 2,000 metres of altitude, is an emotion that reconciles you with the infinite and reminds you of our smallness in the cosmos.

For those wishing to access this high-altitude realm with a touch of poetry, the Gran Sasso Cable Car offers the most spectacular approach. Starting from Fonte Cerreto, the cabins soar into the air, overcoming a significant height difference in a fifteen-minute flight and offering an increasingly broad and breathtaking perspective of the plateau unfolding below. It is an experience that thrills adults and children alike, a way to fully comprehend the scale and majesty of the "Little Tibet" even before setting foot on it.

However, the most authentic and secret soul of Campo Imperatore is found away from the busiest spots. It is on the trails that lead into the Piana di Vesolo or the vast basin of Campo Pericoli, where the feeling of solitude becomes magnificent and the landscape takes on almost lunar connotations. It is here that you are most likely to encounter the true inhabitants of these lands: herds of horses grazing wild, herds of cows, and, with a bit of luck, the majestic flight of a golden eagle. And then there is the magic of Lago Pietranzoni, a temporary body of water that, when filled, creates one of the most photographed spectacles in the entire Apennines. Its calm waters, in the absence of wind, reflect with surreal perfection the imposing silhouette of the Corno Grande, doubling the beauty and offering a picture of unreal peace, especially at dawn or dusk.
These places are not simple geographical coordinates, but sanctuaries of silence that ask to be walked with respect, savouring every moment of connection with an authentic and untamed nature.

The Authentic Flavours of the Gran Sasso

The cuisine of Campo Imperatore and the villages dotting its slopes is the faithful mirror of a culture inextricably linked to pastoralism and the mountains. It is a robust, sincere gastronomy, made of decisive flavours that warm the body and comfort the spirit.
The undisputed king of this table is the arrosticino, the famous skewer of mutton cut into cubes and cooked over hot embers. Its scent, spreading in the crisp air, is the very aroma of mountainous Abruzzo. The authentic flavour is found in the "arrosticinarie" of the villages or directly from the shepherds, where the meat, expertly spiced, tells the taste of the aromatic herbs from the high pastures.

Alongside the arrosticino, the Pecorino di Campo Imperatore reigns supreme, a hard cheese with an intense and slightly spicy character, aged in cool stone cellars. It is the fruit of the skilled work of the shepherds and the milk from flocks grazing freely on the plateau, and every wheel preserves the scent of the wind and heather. Another dairy treasure is the ricotta, enjoyed here in two versions: fresh, very soft and delicate, perfect to spread on a slice of homemade bread perhaps with a veil of sour cherry jam, or smoked, with a more decisive and complex flavour, obtained using ancient methods with beech wood.

The peasant and pastoral tradition also offers cured meats with a strong character, like ventricina, a spreadable or sliced salami enriched with chilli and spices, and pork sausages, often flavoured with wild fennel. To accompany these powerful flavours, the lentils of Santo Stefano di Sessanio are a must. These very small, tender legumes grow at high altitudes and have a rich, mineral flavour that pairs well with cured meats and meats.
All this is generously washed down with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a full-bodied and structured red wine that closes the circle of a gastronomic experience that is true material culture. The perfect meal, after a day of walking, is precisely this: a platter of cured meats and pecorino, a bowl of lentils, a handful of steaming arrosticini and a glass of red wine, perhaps enjoyed on a refuge terrace or in a trattoria in a medieval village, as the sun sets behind the mountains.

How to Reach Campo Imperatore

Reaching this natural sanctuary is simpler than its remote aura might suggest. By car, the journey is part of the experience.
From Rome, taking the A24 motorway and exiting at Assergi, you take the Strada Statale 17 bis, a veritable work of engineering art that, through a series of spectacular hairpin turns, climbs the slopes of the Gran Sasso, offering stunning view after stunning view, until it emerges onto the plateau. The car offers the freedom to explore the entire area at your leisure.
For those preferring public transport, the challenge is greater but feasible with good planning. The reference railway station is L'Aquila, well connected to Roma Tiburtina. From there, you need to take a regional bus run by "TUA" heading to Assergi or Campo Imperatore. It is essential to check the timetables in advance, as services are not frequent, especially during the low season or on weekends. The more poetic and comfortable alternative, once you reach Fonte Cerreto, remains the cable car, which bypasses the road and provides a triumphant entrance onto the plateau.

Where to Stay: Between History and Medieval Villages

To complete the experience, the choice of accommodation is fundamental. To fully experience the magic of the place and capture its most intimate atmospheres, like the dawn setting the peaks ablaze or the deep silence of the starry night, the ideal is to stay directly on the plateau at the Albergo di Campo Imperatore. Waking up at 2,130 metres, in a building steeped in history, is an experience in itself. For those seeking a more intimate atmosphere and contact with medieval history, the villages on the edge of the plateau offer enchanting solutions.
Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castel del Monte and Rocca Calascio, with their quiet alleys, stone houses and their air of being suspended in time, host numerous bed and breakfasts, guest rooms and alberghi diffusi that allow you to immerse yourself completely in the genius loci of this land.

Campo Imperatore: A Place that Reconnects the Soul with Nature

Campo Imperatore is not a simple destination to visit, but an inner landscape to assimilate. It is a place that asks to be walked slowly, that invites you to stop, to listen to your own breath mingling with the wind, and to let the external vastness calm the internal one.
Whether you come for the sporting challenge, for photography, for historical interest, or simply to find a fragment of yourself far from the chaos of the world, Italy's "Little Tibet" offers a rare gift: the sensation of being a small point in an immense and perfect design. Let yourself be enveloped by its silent majesty and you will discover that, even after you have descended to the valley, a piece of its infinite, solemn beauty will remain with you forever.
Campo Imperatore waits only to reveal its most authentic face to you, in an embrace of wind, stone and light that you will not forget.