83km Little Tibet
Campo Imperatore
Ride Overview
Campo Imperatore - a ride into the mountain heartland of Abruzzo
Above the Campo is Europe’s southernmost glacier. For six months of the year snow covers the plain and for the other six, wild flowers and sheep. The Emperor’s Field, to give the Campo an English translation, is one of the largest high altitude Alpine plains in Europe, and to arrive there you must cross over the curtain wall of mountains which surround it. In the early season, it is cold up there and the weather capricious. However, the early season gives the place an extra quality - of solitude and snow-peaked grandeur. The route travels through an ever changing mountain landscape of field strips, hidden valleys, treeless plains and you’ll rarely if ever, have ridden round as many hairpin bends. There are past some picturesque villages along the way which are still recovering from the devastating 2009 earthquake, but in their heyday they were prosperous centres of the wool trade.
Ride Notes
In mid-May Capestrano, where the ride begins, is empty other than a cold wind which shakes the plastic chairs and two old gents who are exchanging news over an espresso in one of the two cafés in the main square. As a town, it has had more prosperous days - in Roman times it was a centre of learning, noted for its school of philosophy and in medieval times it was an important centre for the local wool trade. During succeeding centuries the three springs near the town - which produce some of the clearest water in Europe - were a draw. From the main road to the region’s capital L’Aquila, the town looks spectacular with its castle and church towers, but few people bother to stop by nowadays and plants grow in the belfries as well as on the old cobbled streets. It is a haunting and melancholic place, but the cafés serve good coffee and there’s free parking in the main square.
Castello Piccolomini, Capestrano
Once out of the square, there’s no need to pedal for 3km as its all downhill to the junction with the main road. Once over the bridge, look up at the maze of hairpins on the lump of the hill ahead of you - that’s the route. You’ll get to know each curve intimately as you grind around the bends.
SP98 to Calascio
Settling into a rhythm is key - slow and steady works well, with many glances to the left and right to see the valley floor diminish in size and scale. You have time too, to see the mountains rise ahead of you, their snow peaks intruding into a heavy grey sky. You feel as if you are riding towards the roof of the world. The roadside verges are lined with orchids and other early early season flowers.
After 20km, picturesquely situated on a precipitous hillside is the village of Calascio. It’s rather like an empty snail’s shell - beautiful on the outside, but with no-one home inside. Living in this wilderness is hard, so hard that most Abruzzi have chosen emigration over farming a stony soil in a region with harsh winters and baking summers. There are more Abruzzi living abroad than there are in the actual province. Above the village, is the completely abandoned Rocca Calascio, whose castle and spectacular church appear frequently on Abruzzo’s tourist promotional material. However, there’s still much to feast the eyes on ahead on the route, so continue onwards towards S. Stefano di Sessanio.
Calascio with the abandoned Rocca Calascio above it
Earthquakes
As you ride on, you can make out the rough earth walls dividing the many abandoned fields on either side of the roads. In the small valleys wedged between the high hills, some cultivation continues, with narrow medieval field strips. At 26km, the village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio appears on a hill ahead of you. It is a spectacular sight to see the old village crowning the hill ahead of you, surrounded by the high Apennines. Cranes touch the sky, rather than the old church towers, evidence of the ongoing earthquake repairs. The village, like the others around here, was rocked by the 6 April 2009 earthquake and the re-building is happening so slowly - oh, so very slowly. After 15 years, only 60% of the reconstruction is complete (https://opendataricostruzione.gssi.it/home) and many former inhabitants are still living in flats on the outskirts of L’Aquila. The town was one of an important centre of the medieval wool trade and its many palaces, merchant homes and churches still stand. If you were in need of break, and fancy wandering back in time, turn off the route and follow signs to Il Centro.
Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Wind
Imagine the Campo as an old fortress with curtain walls, towers and defensive moats. Inside there are defenders with their arrows of rain, wind and snow. To enter the inner bailey, you need to storm the walls and quell the defenders. That said, there’s, there is nothing particularly steep ahead of you, but since the climb has lasted for the best part of 30km so far, the legs are likely to be feeling the strain. However, the scenery is grand and magnificent and the old fields and pastures are covered in wild flowers. In medieval times, the Campo was the heartland of Italian medieval wool production, controlled by the Medicis in Florence. Once winter was over and the pastures cleared of snow, the sheep were brought back from their over-wintering 400km away in Puglia.
Once over the lip of the climb, you descend into Little Tibet, and the views are stupendous. If there’s no cloud - not a guarantee in May - you’ll see the Corno Grande, the highest peak of the Apennines, at 2,912m. This is a harsh destination in May, not just those hardened racers in the Giro who covet glory, but for us lesser mortals. The wind is capricious and cold, rain frequent, snow and hail not unknown, but that said, it’s wildly beautiful.
The Corno Grande, hidden by cloud
Fire
At the junction with SP17bis, you bear right and you ride through the flower filled meadows of the Campo. All around are walls of mountains, snow covered, treacherous and alluring in equal measure. On a day such as this, the solitude of the mountain vastness is intense. You cross vast plains of moraine and gravel cleansed from the rocks. In time, you’ll arrive at the Ristoro Mucciante, where you can buy locally reared meat and grill it on the charcoal braziers provided. It’s a great summer pastime but in early May, it is usually too cold to be standing around in thin cycling clothes, watching your lamb steaks cook.
The road continues across the Campo, until it has to climb again over the enclosing wall. After 3km, you reach 1600m at the Vallico Capo la Serra, and once over that your climbing is all but done. Relax into 25km of downhill via Castel di Monte, another of the picturesque mountain villages on the route. When I first climbed up here many years ago, the village was all but deserted save for two priests having a shouting match in the village square. There are a couple of good restaurants in town which make lunch an enticing option, especially as its a 20km freewheel back down to the valley.
After the cold, windswept heights, the green valley floor is a welcome sight. All that remains is a 3km gentle climb back up to Capestrano.
Ride practicalities
The ride of course, can be ridden at any time between May and late October. However, every month has its joys and the capricious weather in May is as beautiful in its own way as any bright sunny day in July. There’s always the promise of a return in the warm summer months to tackle the highest road up to the Gran Sasso itself.
START/FINISH: Capestrano DISTANCE: 83km. TOTAL ASCENT: 1719m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: All road - up to S. Stefano di Sessanio the roads are newly re-tarred (2023) and thereafter, the roads are rideable and heavy. If they do for the pros in the Giro d’Italia, then they’ll do for us. FOOD: All the villages have coffee bars. Campo Imperatore: The Ristoro Mucciante is a brilliant experience - barbecuing your own meat and eating it outside surrounded by extraodinary grandeur, but there is a climb - albeit only 3 km - after lunch. Castel di Monte; Miramonti. Capestrano - Braceria Tirino - I’m told is OK. MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: None LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: The Gran Sasso