Campo Imperatore is a notable cinematographic natural set: the location has been used in more than twenty films, like The American, The Name of the Rose, Krull, Ladyhawke, Red Sonja, Il sole anche di notte, and L'Armata ritorna.
Campo Imperatore is a tectonic origin shaped by alluviums and glaciers. The plateau, which is 27km in length and an average of 8km in width, lies adjacent to the Apennines' highest peak Corno Grande, and Europe's southernmost glacier, the Calderone; also surrounding the plateau are Monte Prena, Monte Aquila, and the Camicia Mountains to the north and Monte Scindarella, Mesola and Monte Bolza to the south.
The plateau's altitude ranges from 1,500 to 1,900 meters. It covers an expanse of approximately 80km². Campo Imperatore is home to one of Italy's oldest alpine ski resorts. Located on the plateau's western edge, the resort began commercial operation in the 1920s and continues to thrive as a ski resort to this day due to its proximity to Rome (132km). The resort's hotel became dictator Benito Mussolini's prison in August 1943 with his fall from power until he was freed by German commandos on 12 September 1943. On the eastern side of the plateau is a 4km cross country ski trail, which is maintained by the nearby town of Castel del Monte.
In spring, summer and fall, shepherds from these neighboring hill towns maintain herds of sheep, "semi-wild" horses, and cattle in the plateau. The pastures are covered with field grasses and meadowland wild flowers.
Campo Imperatore is also home to the AlpineBotanical Garden of Campo Imperatore. Founded in 1952, the garden is devoted to cultivation and study of some 300 species indigenous mountainous plants, including rare and endangered plant species, among them Vaccinium gaultherioides, Yellow Gentiana (Gentiana lutea), Edelweiss of the Apennines (Leontopodium nivale), and Adonis distorta, all plants that have adapted to Campo Imperatore's environment.
Campo Imperatore is also the habitat for the Apennine wolf, Apennine wildcat and the Abruzzo chamois. Nearly extinct, the latter is making a comeback through a joint effort by WWF Italia and the administration of the Gran Sasso National Park. Other species of wildlife include wild boar, foxes, grass snakes, and a wide variety of bird life including golden eagles and peregrine falcons.
Astronomic observatory Gran Sasso from Campo Imperatore
Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
Gran Sasso d'Italia is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande, is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies within Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It has borders with the provinces of Teramo to the north, Pescara and Chieti to the east, Isernia to the south and Frosinone, Rome and Rieti to the west. Its capital is the city of L'Aquila.
The Province of Teramo is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Teramo. The province has an area of 1,948 square kilometres (752 sq mi), a population of 313,029 (2012), and is subdivided into 47 comunes, see Comunes of the Province of Teramo. The Province of Teramo shares its northern border with the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche Region, southern and southwestern borders with the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo Region, and a western border with the Province of Rieti in the Region of Lazio. To the south is the Abruzzo Province of Pescara and to the east is the Adriatic Sea.
Corno Grande is the highest point in the Apennine Mountains, situated in Abruzzo, central Italy. Part of the Gran Sasso massif, it is the highest peak of the Italian Peninsula at 2,912 metres (9,554 ft). It is the highest peak in mainland Italy outside of the Alps, and the second highest in the entire country outside the Alps, after Mount Etna in Sicily. It has significant vertical relief on the north side, though its south side is less elevated than the adjacent Campo Imperatore plateau.
The University of L'Aquila is a public research university located in L'Aquila, Central Italy. It was founded in 1964 and is organized in nine departments. The university presents a scientific-technological character with many research groups. It is best known for its Engineering, Medicine, Psychology and Science schools.
Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula.
Calascio is a comune and village in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
Castel del Monte is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the province of L'Aquila in northern Abruzzo, Italy. Located in the heart of the Gran Sasso mountain range, the town is set into a steep hillside nestled beneath mountain peaks near the high plain of Campo Imperatore. Castel del Monte sits opposite the ancient mountaintop fortress of Rocca Calascio and faces Monte Sirente in the distance. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
Santo Stefano di Sessanio is a comune and hill town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. Located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, in the highest region of the Apennines, this medieval hill town sits adjacent to the high plain of Campo Imperatore. It is most famous for the regal wedding of local royalty Allegra Boccabella and Boris Cornelissen.
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in central Italy. Established in 1991, it covers an area of 2,014 square kilometres (778 sq mi), mostly within the provinces of Teramo, L'Aquila, and Pescara in Abruzzo, with small areas in the provinces of Rieti in Lazio and Ascoli Piceno in Marche. The terrain is predominantly mountainous with alpine plains.
The Capannelle Pass is a mountain pass in Italy. It sits at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level in the Province of L'Aquila in Italy's Abruzzo Region. It is located on the Italian State Highway 80 which passes near the Gran Sasso in the Apennines.
The Alpine Botanical Garden of Campo Imperatore is a botanical garden for alpine plants located at Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. It is operated by the University of L'Aquila.
The Apennine deciduous montane forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. The development of these forests is ensured by the high rainfall in the Apennines, combined with a temperate-cool climate. Because of climate change, the presence of silver fir, although still widespread, has been dramatically reduced in favour of beech.
The Monti Marsicani are the sixth-highest group of Apennines located in the Abruzzo region, mostly in the Province of L’Aquila and partly in the Province of Frosinone and Province of Isernia. The highest peak is Monte Greco (2285m). They are limited in north by the Fucino plateau and Peligna Valley, on the east by the River Gizio and Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia, on the south by the Valley Sangro and Volturno, on the east by valley Liri and Melfa.
Tourism in Abruzzo has become one of the most prosperous sectors in the economy of Abruzzo, and in recent years has seen a remarkable growth attracting numerous tourists from Italy and Europe. According to statistics, in 2021 arrivals totaled 1,330,887. A total of 5,197,765 arrivals were tourists, a figure that puts the region seventeenth among the Italian regions for numbers of tourists per year. A moderate support to tourism is also given to the Abruzzo Airport with many low cost and charter flights connecting the entire region with the rest of Europe.
Campo Felice is a karstic plateau in the central Apennines, included in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy.
Assergi is a frazione of the comune of L'Aquila, located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the capital. With a population of just over 500, it is situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 meters, below the western slope of the Gran Sasso in a small plain called the Piana di Assergi (Plain of Assergi). Assergi was formerly included in the comune of Camarda, which is directly to its south.
The Hotel Campo Imperatore, also known as Albergo di Campo Imperatore, is a hotel on top of Campo Imperatore at 2,130 metres (6,990 ft) altitude on the slopes of Monte Portella, in the massif of Gran Sasso d'Italia, within the municipality of L'Aquila.
Tre Nevi is one of the most important ski areas of South Italy, located in the Apennine Mountains, in Abruzzo. Created in 1997, it is made up of three ski resorts, hence the name of the area: the first two are Campo Felice, with the two slopes of Lucoli and Rocca di Cambio, and Ovindoli, both included between Monte Velino, Monte Magnola and Monte Sirente, within the Sirente-Velino Regional Park, while the third is the more distant station of Campo Imperatore, on the Gran Sasso.
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