Info
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Height difference +287
  • Recommended season Spring/Summer

www.sentieroatmosfera.it

inappenninomodenese

inappenninomodenese

The Sentiero dell’Atmosfera (The Atmosphere Trail) is an educational trail that takes you to the summit of Mount Cimone.

If you are familiar with the Mount Cimone area, you will almost certainly know that, at its summit, at an altitude of 2165m, there is one of the most important centres belonging to the Italian Air Force Meteorological Service, together with the Italian National Research Council (CNR).

The CAMM (Mountain Air Force Centre) has a long tradition linked to Mount Cimone. In addition to being the highest peak in the northern Apennines, Mount Cimone is rather unique from a geographical point of view, in that it has no ‘obstacles’ or other mountains obstructing its view. This means that, from its peak, the largest portion of Italian territory is visible to the naked eye, more than from any other mountain summit.

In fact, under perfect visibility conditions, it is possible to see 4/10 of the Italian landmass. 

The ‘Ottavio Vittori’ atmospheric observatory – belonging to the CNR (National Research Centre) – is also located at the summit of Mount Cimone. It stands on the site of the former CAI (Italian Alpine Club) “Romualdi” refuge and, since the 1990s, has carried out important studies and surveys of the atmosphere and its gases. The centre plays an important role within national, European and worldwide projects for the study and protection of the atmosphere.

The itinerary

This is an educational itinerary that starts at an altitude of 1,880 metres, at Pian Cavallaro. To get here, you can take the cable car (open in high season) or follow the trails that start from Lake Ninfa.

The specific trails that you can take are Sestola public trail no. 11 – also known as the “Sentiero dei Portatori” – or trail no. 13b. Both are beautiful trails that will bring you to the starting point of our itinerary. 

Once you reach Pian Cavallaro, you need to follow CAI (Italian Alpine Club) trail no. 449, also known as the “mulattiera” or mule track, to distinguish it from the steeper route to Cimone called the “direttissima” (direct) route. 

The trail climbs gently but steadily up the side of Mount Cimone, offering panoramic views of the valley and the surrounding mountains.

During the summer season, interesting information panels can be found along the trail, which we recommend reading at your leisure to find out more about the project and Mount Cimone’s involvement in it. 

You can download the pamphlet by clicking here