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| Monte Genzana, from Piazza Garibaldi and Porchetta |
Views of mountain peaks abound from Piazza Garibaldi, the main market square in the center of Sulmona. This photo, taken while we were devouring the local specialty of
panini de porchetta, captures Monte Genzana - one of the big ones - nestled between the arches of a stunning, Medieval aqueduct that is one of the true landmarks of this picturesque Italian town.
I tackled Genzana, a monstrous 7,000 footer, as a solo up and back on a warm, sunny weekday. The trail head, located at the headwaters of the Gizio River where the town of Pettorano gets its water supply, is reachable through a pretty archaeological park and a meandering hardly-used auto road into the Gizio Valley.
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| Picturesque Pettorano Sul Gizio, View back into town from trail head access road |
At the water works, the trail enters the woods, passes the Madonna della Valle church, and then gains elevation, steeply and consistently, covering 5,000 feet of elevation gain. It was clear that the trail was rarely used as the actual track soon disappeared, making it necessary to rely on sporadic blazes (and a map and compass) to find the way.
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| Summit, Monte Genzana, from Radio Tower |
Once above tree line, an unsightly radio antenna provided the wayfinder past some stone sheep enclosures and up to the summit proper, which is marked, as is common in Catholic European nations, with a cross. Despite the proximity of this piece of modern technology, the peak still proved immensely peaceful. I lunched to the sound of the wind and the tranquility of a mountain top totally devoid of human beings. I met not a single hiker the entire day.
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| Monte Genzana, View of Summit above Treeline |
Like the White Mountain 4000 footers and the Adirondack 46ers, the Italians have a club of their own. It's called
Il Club 2000m - The 2000 meter club. To join, one must scale all 241 peaks in the Apennine mountains of central Italy that above 2000 meters in elevation. That's 6,500 feet.
1 down. 240 to go. Yea right.
Peak: Monte Genzana
Elevation: 2170 meters (7,119 feet)
Gain: 1600 meters (5,249 feet)
Route: Trail 5, up and back
Conditions: Sunny, 70 degrees F
