Strada Imperiale: Rifugio Capanna Ghezzi to Forca Viola
S Start: Rifugio Capanna Ghezzi · 1,570 m A Finish: Forca Viola · 1,935 m
Map and track: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Trail facts
- Start
- Rifugio Capanna Ghezzi · 1,570 m
- Finish
- Forca Viola · 1,935 m
- Route
- one way
- Trail marker
- 552
- Municipality
- Norcia
Warning: dogs banned on the first section, even on a leash. The Park bans dogs, even on a leash, along the E17 hiking route from Capanna Ghezzi to Foce di Montemonaco, which uses the first kilometer and a half of the Strada Imperiale. On the rest of the trail the Park's general rules apply: along hiking routes dogs must be kept on a leash, and they are not allowed in the A zones of the Park Plan.
The Strada Imperiale, CAI trail 552, climbs from the Rifugio Capanna Ghezzi hut, at 1,570 m, to Forca Viola, at about 1,936 m, on the ridge above the valley of Lago di Pilato. It covers 3 km and about 370 m of ascent, in the municipality of Norcia. CAI difficulty grade: E.
- Distance
- 3.03 km
- Elevation gain
- +370 m
- Elevation loss
- −4 m
- Lowest point
- 1,570 m
- Highest point
- 1,936 m
- Difficulty
- E, hiking
- Time
- 1 h 35 min (estimate)
From the OpenStreetMap track and the Copernicus DEM profile; time is an estimate.
Before you go
Forecast at the start
- Today8° / 3°0.1 mmPartly cloudy
Forecast by MET Norway, updated automatically · license CC BY 4.0
Rules and orders: Park website. Snow and avalanches: Meteomont bulletin.
- Ascent
- 370 m
- Descent
- 4 m
- Lowest point
- 1,570 m
- Highest point
- 1,936 m
Elevations: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018.
Indicative OpenStreetMap track: check the markers and trail conditions on site.
Strada Imperiale (Norcia): the Route from Capanna Ghezzi
The climb is on a steady gradient, around 12 percent, from start to finish. At km 1.4 the trail passes below Colle Abieri (almost 1,800 m) and shortly after, at km 1.5, the Strada Imperiale 555 branches off, continuing toward Palazzo Borghese. In the second half, the Fonte delle Fate spring and the Casale Argentella stay about three hundred meters from the trail, higher up. The finish is at the Forca Viola pass.
Strada Imperiale (Norcia): Technical Data
The first kilometer and a half is part of the Park's E17 hiking route, «Sui passi del Guerrin Meschino» («In the footsteps of Guerrin Meschino»): from Castelluccio via Capanna Ghezzi, Colle Abieri and Palazzo Borghese to Foce di Montemonaco, 13.7 km, 990 m of elevation gain, 4 hours and 40 minutes one way, graded EE and listed as open and maintained. The Park explains that the E17 follows part of the road taken by Guerin Meschino, the hero of Andrea da Barberino's 1410 romance, to travel from Norcia to the Sibyl.
Strada Imperiale (Norcia): Map to Forca Viola
Trails 553 and 551 arrive at Capanna Ghezzi from Castelluccio. At Forca Viola the trail meets trail 153, which descends into the valley of Lago di Pilato, and trail 554, which climbs to Monte Argentella.
Nearby
What to see nearby
- 2.0 km
- 2.3 km
- 2.5 km
Where to stay
- Villa Tardioli, NorciaGuesthouse2.5 km
- La Valle Delle Aquile, NorciaFarm stay2.6 km
- Locanda De' Senari, NorciaFarm stay2.6 km
Where to eat
- Ristorante da Mamma Ida, NorciaRestaurant2.3 km
- Osteria del Vettore, NorciaRestaurant2.3 km
- Bar Sibilla, NorciaBar and café2.3 km
Straight-line distances.