Trail 556, Norcia: Castelluccio di Norcia – Monte Ventòsola

The route of trail 556

From Castelluccio, where there are several drinking water points and a picnic area, the trail descends about 120 m in the first kilometer. At km 1.7 it passes about a hundred meters from the Edicola del Piangrande shrine.

Then the long crossing of the plain begins: for nine kilometers the elevation stays between 1,270 and 1,300 m, practically level. There are no water points or shelters marked.

The climbing is all at the end: from km 10.8 the trail goes from 1,300 to 1,411 m at the Malopasso pass, at km 11.7, and from there reaches 1,565 m in the last kilometer, the steepest section.

Trail 556 technical details

Trail 556 is the return leg of the Park's hiking route E13, "Sul fondo del lago scomparso" (On the bed of the vanished lake): from Castelluccio it climbs on trail 560 to Poggio di Croce, passes over Monte Ventòsola and returns across the Pian Grande. The loop is 21.9 km long, with 670 m of elevation gain and 6 hours counterclockwise; the Park grades it E and lists it as open and subject to maintenance.

Points of interest along trail 556

The Piani di Castelluccio, the Park notes, were the bed of a vast lake in the Pliocene. Today the Pian Grande is the stage for the spring and summer blooms; its almost smooth surface is broken only by the Fosso dei Mergani, a channel of karst origin that collects the waters of the basin, overlooked by Monte Vettore.