Manuel Chiacchiararelli

Retracing Wandering Italia: from Rocca Calascio to Campo Imperatore

After the unforgettable sunrise enjoyed alone among the ruins of Rocca Calascio, all that remains is to set out for a stage that will be highly demanding but absolutely wonderful.

Only the birds chirping accompanies me for the first few kilometres to Santo Stefano di Sessanio where meeting some people, I return to civilisation for a moment.

Then the journey returns to be solitary, intimate, mine through the valleys of the small Italian Tibet: the immense Piano Delle Locce, some smaller and hidden basins, the first real mountain to climb, the beautiful and flowery plain of Lake Passaneta until I get to look out over Campo Imperatore.

From there, I decide to “cut” climbing Mount Scindarella to cross the hill on the opposite side: a challenging, demanding, alpine climb that puts me to the test. Yet today, I always have the comfort of marvellous landscapes and of always seeing the whole journey made, such as Rocca Calascio, increasingly distant.

I climb with difficulty but I climb anyway.

And, at the top, the show at the foot of His Majesty the Gran Sasso, repays all my efforts…

In 2018 I embarked on a journey, on foot and alone, from the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise towards Trieste, going up the Apennines and facing the Alps.

If you want to find out more about this incredible experience, you can find Wandering Italia – A journey to regain your life on Amazon, on Kobo and in PDF.