APULICA / WALKS

Sentiero Italia CAI (sections in Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Calabria)

Reggio Calabria, where the trail returns to the mainland (stage SI U01) → Campotosto in Abruzzo (stage SI P13), from where the national trail continues towards Amatrice and beyond · About 8,000 km for the whole national trail according to the official project page (the FAQ gives 7,900–8,000 km). The CAI does not state the combined length of the sections in these six regions; for Calabria alone italia.it gives 654 km. · For the whole trail the FAQ speaks of more than 500 stages, while the project page mentions almost 400 stage points. The stage-card list shows 120 cards with codes P to U, variants included (R04 is missing). For Calabria italia.it gives 34 stages, while the CAI list has 32 Calabrian cards (U01–U32).

Key facts

Start and finish	Reggio Calabria, where the trail returns to the mainland (stage SI U01) → Campotosto in Abruzzo (stage SI P13), from where the national trail continues towards Amatrice and beyond
Length	About 8,000 km for the whole national trail according to the official project page (the FAQ gives 7,900–8,000 km). The CAI does not state the combined length of the sections in these six regions; for Calabria alone italia.it gives 654 km. (Il SICAI - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it)
Stages	For the whole trail the FAQ speaks of more than 500 stages, while the project page mentions almost 400 stage points. The stage-card list shows 120 cards with codes P to U, variants included (R04 is missing). For Calabria italia.it gives 34 stages, while the CAI list has 32 Calabrian cards (U01–U32). (Il SICAI - Sentiero Italia CAI · Schede Tappa - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it)
Credential	The Walker's Passport is the planned official credential, stamped at mountain huts and SICAI-accredited lodgings; the official page says it will be available soon. (Il Passaporto - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI)
Regions	Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Puglia, Molise, Abruzzo (National trail linking every Italian region: it reaches Reggio Calabria after the stages in Sardinia and Sicily and beyond Abruzzo it also continues into Lazio.)
Official website	sentieroitalia.cai.it

In brief

It is Italy's longest hiking route: about 8,000 km looked after by the Italian Alpine Club, touching every region. (Il SICAI - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI)
In Calabria it links the Aspromonte, Sila and Pollino national parks: italia.it gives 654 km in 34 stages, the CAI list has 32 cards. (Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it · Schede Tappa - Sentiero Italia CAI)
The eastern branch starts at Grottaglie and passes Matera, Altamura, Castel del Monte, Venosa and Melfi. (Scheda tappa SI R01 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R06B - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R07A - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R09 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R11B - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R12 - Sentiero Italia CAI)
Red-white-red CAI waymarks; difficulty from T to EE depending on the stage. (FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI · Segnaletica - Sentiero Italia CAI)
The Walker's Passport has been announced but, according to the site, is not yet available. (Il Passaporto - Sentiero Italia CAI)

Why walk it

The Sentiero Italia CAI exists to bring walkers to little-known places through their nature, beauty and traditions, with an explicit focus on local communities and on slow travel that leaves value where it passes. It can also be walked in pieces: a single stage, a weekend or a crossing of several days.

Across the six regions the scenery keeps changing. The very first day out of Reggio Calabria gives views of the Strait of Messina, the Aeolian Islands and Etna; in the Sila a detour leads to the centuries-old larch pines of the Giganti reserve, up to 45 metres tall; above Morano Calabro the trail crosses the great karst bowl of Piano Grande di Masistro and, on the Pollino, the loricato pines.

The branch starting at Grottaglie, in Puglia, runs among the farmhouses, dry-stone walls, olive groves and Macedonian oaks of the Murge, reaches Matera and climbs to Castel del Monte. On the Sirino, from the summit of Monte Papa, the view takes in the Apennines from the Val d'Agri to the Cilento, and in Abruzzo the route reaches Campo Imperatore, below the highest peak of the Apennines.

What it is

The Sentiero Italia CAI (SICAI) is Italy's longest hiking route: the official site speaks of about 8,000 km linking every region, following the mountain backbone of the peninsula and reaching the two largest islands. It is the most ambitious project of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), which restores, waymarks and promotes it through its local sections and volunteers.

This page covers the sections in Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Calabria. In the official list of stage cards they carry letter codes: U for Calabria, T for the Lagonegrese and the Basilicata side of the Pollino, S for Campania, R for the branch across Puglia and Basilicata, Q for Molise and P for Abruzzo.

The trail is not designed as a single journey to be completed end to end: the official FAQ stresses that many people choose single stages or short regional crossings. The route works closely with protected areas: along its full length it crosses 16 national parks and 60 regional parks and reserves. For Calabria alone, italia.it describes the regional section as a journey through the hinterland linking the Aspromonte, Sila and Pollino national parks and the Serre Regional Park.

Sources: Il SICAI - Sentiero Italia CAI · Schede Tappa - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI · Il Club Alpino Italiano ed il SICAI · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it

The route

After Sardinia and Sicily the trail returns to the mainland at Reggio Calabria. The first stage climbs to Gambarie (28.0 km), then it continues to Polsi, San Luca, Serra San Bruno (19.4 km on to Torre di Ruggiero), Tiriolo, Lorica and Camigliatello Silano, up to the last Calabrian stage, from Piano Novacco to Morano Calabro (13.5 km). In Basilicata it climbs from Morano to the Madonna del Pollino sanctuary (21.1 km), then San Severino Lucano, Latronico, Castelsaraceno, Conserva di Lauria, Lago Sirino (15.1 km) and Rivello.

In Campania the first stage, from Fortino to Sanza (21.7 km), enters the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park; then come Rifugio Cervati (10.3 km), Piaggine, Sicignano degli Alburni, Acerno and the heart of the Monti Picentini (16.0 km to Casa Rocchi), Serino, Telese, Faicchio and San Gregorio Matese. A variant on the Lattari mountains touches Corpo di Cava, Avvocata (5.6 km) and the Valico di Chiunzi (12.5 km), above the Amalfi Coast.

The eastern branch starts at Grottaglie (17.4 km to Contrada Ulmo) and passes Coreggia di Alberobello, Noci, Gioia del Colle (23.0 km), Santeramo in Colle (17.7 km), Matera (30.3 km), Altamura (22.8 km), Castel del Monte (23.1 km), Spinazzola, Palazzo San Gervasio, Venosa (19.3 km) and Melfi (21.1 km, beside the Vulture), then Candela, Accadia, Faeto and Alberona. The list has no R04 card.

In Molise it goes through Gambatesa, Altilia-Sepino (11.0 km), Bojano and Campitello Matese (12.9 km), where the Campanian section rejoins, then Isernia and San Pietro Avellana. At Rivisondoli the trail splits between Abruzzo and Lazio; in Abruzzo it reaches Barrea, Pescasseroli (26.4 km), Campo di Giove, Popoli, Ofena, Santo Stefano di Sessanio (19.2 km), Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi (18.6 km), Pietracamela and Campotosto.

Difficulty and terrain

Stages follow the CAI hiking scale, from tourist routes (T) to routes for expert hikers (EE). The CAI points out that even the easiest sections call for fitness, technical clothing and suitable footwear, along with the ability to find your way and to watch the weather. The waymark is the classic red-white-red, often with the trail logo, maintained by the local sections.

Effort varies greatly. The opening stage from Reggio Calabria gains about 1,726 metres of ascent in 28 km, the one from Bojano to Campitello Matese almost 1,300 metres, and in Abruzzo the trail reaches Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi at 2,388 metres. On the Murge, by contrast, stages have modest ascent and often run on paved or gravel roads and along the Acquedotto Pugliese cycle route.

The cards flag specific issues: the tracks of the Puglia branch are being checked by local CAI sections, with no guarantee that they are fully walkable; since 29 April 2025 the Gambarie–Polsi stage has been marked impassable because of a landslide; on the Pollino and the Sirino some stretches may be hard going because of vegetation, and waymarking is poor in part of the park's zone A. Always read the current stage card before setting out.

Hospitality and passport

The CAI has planned the Walker's Passport as the official credential: a travel diary in which to collect stage stamps at mountain huts and SICAI-accredited accommodation. Its dedicated page, however, says it will be available soon, so at the time of checking it did not yet appear to be issued.

For overnight stops the FAQ lists mountain huts, local accommodation and SICAI-accredited reception points, many of which offer food, trail information and the passport stamp. Accreditation, the site explains, commits hosts to quality and sustainability standards recognised by the CAI and is aimed at both hikers and mountain-bike hikers. Each stage card lists reception points where available.

Along the sections described here the cards mention different kinds of lodging: various places to stay at Gambarie and Camigliatello Silano, the hut below Monte Cervati, a hut near the Madonna del Pollino sanctuary, a farmhouse where you can sleep shortly before Santeramo in Colle, and Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi at Campo Imperatore.

Sources: Sentiero Italia CAI - Home · Il Passaporto - Sentiero Italia CAI · FAQ - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI U01 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI U20 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI S02 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI T01 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R06A - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI P10 - Sentiero Italia CAI

History and culture

The idea of the Sentiero Italia was born in the 1980s with Riccardo Carnovalini and a group of enthusiasts gathered in the Associazione Sentiero Italia; in the 1990s the Italian Alpine Club, founded in 1863, adopted it with the decisive drive of Teresio Valsesia. The project's philosophy is to rediscover historic paths and to make hiking an act of care for the environment and of support for local economies.

The route links many layers of history. In Reggio Calabria it passes the Pentimele fort, built between 1884 and 1890; in the Aspromonte it climbs Montalto, with the statue of Christ the Redeemer inaugurated in 1901. On the Sirino it reaches the seventeenth-century chapel of the Madonna di Sirino, the highest Marian sanctuary in Basilicata. In Molise it follows for a stretch the Candela–Pescasseroli tratturo, one of the great transhumance routes, to the Samnite and Roman remains of Saepinum.

On the eastern branch walkers meet Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the town of Norman origin of Palazzo San Gervasio, and Venosa, a Roman town and the birthplace of Horace, before climbing towards Melfi along the Vulture.

Sources: Il SICAI - Sentiero Italia CAI · Il Club Alpino Italiano ed il SICAI · Scheda tappa SI U01 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI U02 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI T06 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI Q04 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R09 - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R11A - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R11B - Sentiero Italia CAI · Scheda tappa SI R12 - Sentiero Italia CAI

Places along the route

Morano Calabro

A historic hill town to explore on foot and connect with the Pollino landscape.