Sentiero Italia CAI: Madonna delle Coste to Castelluccio

The Route of the Sentiero Italia (Madonna delle Coste - Castelluccio)

From the church of the Madonna delle Coste, at about 1,070 m, the route climbs toward the saddle between Monte Ciambella and the Costa Castelluccia and reaches the Forca dei Copelli pass, at 1,625 m. These are the first six and a half kilometers, and they concentrate most of the climbing.

The route continues north along the Pantani, a group of small ponds, to the Forca dei Pantani (1,611 m). From here the trail follows the boundary of the National Park of the Sibillini Mountains to Forca Canapine, at 1,543 m, ten kilometers from the start. At Forca Canapine there is a parking lot on the road: it is the most convenient point to split the stage in two.

In the ski area the route passes the Rifugio Genziana, the Rifugio Colle le Cese and the Rifugio Monti del Sole, and near the Rifugio Perugia. At Forca Ventosola (1,514 m, km 13) there are another parking lot and a drinking water point.

From here the view opens over the Piano Grande. The trail skirts it along the mountainside, following the peaks that close it to the west, with a long series of ups and downs; the highest point, about 1,750 m, is around km 19. The last section descends to Castelluccio, at 1,426 m.

Sentiero Italia Technical Data (Madonna delle Coste - Castelluccio)

In the opposite direction, from Castelluccio, the ascent is 746 m and the descent 1,099 m.

Sentiero Italia Map (Madonna delle Coste - Castelluccio)

For the first eight kilometers the Sentiero Italia coincides with trail 300; between the Forca dei Pantani and Forca Canapine also with trail 102. From about km 11 to km 20 it follows the same route as stage 8 of the Grande Anello dei Sibillini, which the Park describes as a gentle ridge overlooking the Piani di Castelluccio to the east and, 600 meters lower, the plain of Santa Scolastica to the west. In the last kilometers it coincides with trail 560. Stage N02 from Colle d'Arquata arrives at the Madonna delle Coste.

Points of Interest Along the Sentiero Italia (Madonna delle Coste - Castelluccio)

For water: the Fonte Copelli spring is just before the Forca dei Copelli, about 230 m from the route; then there are the point marked at Forca Ventosola and the fountains of Castelluccio. The Park notes that Castelluccio was severely hit by the 2016 earthquake.