Maiella

Last updated
Maiella
Monte Amaro
Massiccio della Majella e Carunchio (CH).jpg
Highest point
Elevation 2,795 m (9,170 ft) [1]
Prominence 1,812 m (5,945 ft) [1]
Listing Ultra
Coordinates 42°05′13″N14°05′15″E / 42.08694°N 14.08750°E / 42.08694; 14.08750 [1]
Geography
Italy relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Amaro
Italy
Location Abruzzo, Italy
Parent range Apennine Mountains
Climbing
First ascent 1873

The Maiella (or Majella) is a massif in the Central Apennines, in Abruzzo, central Italy.

Contents

Geography

Maiella at dusk Maiella at dusk.jpg
Maiella at dusk
Maiella Massif from ISS, 2019. To the northeast is the Adriatic Sea. Maiella Massif from ISS.jpg
Maiella Massif from ISS, 2019. To the northeast is the Adriatic Sea.

The mountain is located at the boundary between the provinces of Chieti, Pescara and L'Aquila.

The highest peak is Monte Amaro at 2,793 m, the second-highest of the entire Apennine range. The massif is at the centre of the Maiella National Park.

The Maiella is formed by a compact limestone massif, on which summit are the highest peaks in the group: Monte Amaro 2,793 m, Monte Acquaviva 2,737 m, Monte Focalone 2,676 m, Monte Rotondo 2,656 m, Monte Macellaro 2,646 m, Pesco Falcone 2,546 m, Cima delle Murelle 2,598 m. A further peak is the Blockhaus (2,145m), which is sometimes used as the finish of a stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race.

Vast plateaus are present up to 2,500 m. The slopes are characterized by steep valleys and gorges, carved out by rivers such as the Orfento, the Foro and others.

Nearby are the Monte Morrone, Monte Porrara and Monti Pizzi groups. The Maiella includes an iced waterfall, known as Il Principiante, located at 1,600 metres and having a height of 25 metres.

History

The massif was the site of the 1706 Abruzzo earthquake, which measured 6.8 Mw. It devastated many towns in Abruzzo. [2]

Scientific research

The area of the Montagna della Maiella has been subject to a major international geoscientific research Project, TaskForceMajella, from 1998 up to 2005. Along the northern slope of the mountain for thousands of years, hydrocarbon extraction has occurred from spontaneous seepages and shallow wells. [3]

Cycling

The Maiella, particularly the Blockhaus peak, is a popular ride for amateur cyclists and is also sometimes used for a stage of the Giro d'Italia. The first use by the race was in 1967, when Eddy Merckx won the stage. [4] Merckx subsequently went on to establish a cycle manufacturing company and named one of his cycles after the Blockhaus. Subsequent Blockhaus stage victors were Franco Bitossi (1968), José Manuel Fuente (1972), Moreno Argentin (1984), Ivan Basso (2006), Franco Pellizotti (2009, subsequently disqualified), and Nairo Quintana (2017 [5] ). The most recent inclusion of the Blockhaus on the Giro d'Italia was on 15 May 2022, when the stage was won by the Australian rider Jai Hindley. [6]

The Blockhaus climb will be used for the first time at the Giro d'Italia Women in the 2024 edition of the race. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abruzzo</span> Region in Italy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giro d'Italia</span> Cycling road race held in Italy

The Giro d'Italia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, and the race is still run by a subsidiary of that paper's owner. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except during the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world. The Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with some additional teams invited as 'wild cards'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirreno–Adriatico</span> Italian multi-day road cycling race

Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important preparation for the Giro d'Italia. It is part of the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest level of professional men's races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Giro d'Italia</span> Cycling race

The 1972 Giro d'Italia was the 55th running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Venice on 21 May, with a 5.2 km (3.2 mi) prologue and concluded with a 197 km (122 mi) mass-start stage, on 11 June. A total of 100 riders from ten teams entered the 20-stage race, that was won by Belgian Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team. The second and third places were taken by Spaniards José Manuel Fuente and Francisco Galdós, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maiella National Park</span> National park in Italy

Maiella National Park is a national park located in the provinces of Chieti, Pescara and L'Aquila, in the region of Abruzzo, Italy.

TaskForceMajella (TFM) is an industry-funded geoscientific research project conducted between the years 1998 and 2005. The project involved numerous universities distributed worldwide, and was sponsored by a number of international major oil companies. The area of research was the Majella Mountain in Central Italy, regarded as an analogue of a faulted and fractured hydrocarbon reservoir as can be found in major provinces like the Middle East, Caspian Basin, Mediterranean Basin, and other areas. The scope was to obtain knowledge on the relation between fracture and fault generation, and all types of geological aspects of the evolution of the geological structure.

The Cima Coppi is the title given to the highest peak in the yearly running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The mountain that is given this title each year awards more mountains classification points to the first rider than any of the other categorized mountains in the race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikel Landa</span> Spanish road cyclist

Mikel Landa Meana is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step. His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nairo Quintana</span> Colombian road cyclist

Nairo Alexánder Quintana Rojas, ODB, is a Colombian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Movistar Team.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Giro d'Italia</span> Cycling race

The 2017 Giro d'Italia was the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started on 5 May in Alghero on the island of Sardinia, and ended on 28 May in Milan. The race was won by Tom Dumoulin, who became the first Dutch male winner of the Giro.

The 2017 Giro d'Italia began on 5 May, and stage 11 occurred on 17 May. The race began in Alghero on the island of Sardinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Cornacchia (Daunian Mountains)</span> Mountain in Italy

Monte Cornacchia is a mountain of the Apennine Mountains located in the western internal sector of the province of Foggia. It is the highest peak in the Daunian Mountains and the Apulia region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Giro d'Italia</span> Cycling race

The 2022 Giro d'Italia was the 105th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race. The race started on 6 May in Budapest, Hungary, and finished on 29 May in Verona, Italy.

The 1706 Abruzzo earthquake, also known as the Maiella earthquake, occurred on November 3 at 13:00 CEST. The earthquake with a possible epicenter in the Central Apennine Mountains (Maiella), Abruzzo had an estimated moment magnitude of 6.6–6.84 Mw . It was assigned a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing tremendous destruction in Valle Peligna. At least 2,400 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passo Lanciano-La Majelletta ski area</span>

Passolanciano-Maielletta is a ski area of italy, located in the Apennine Mountains, on the north-eastern slope of the Maiella massif, inside of the Maiella National Park, in the territory of the municipalities of Pretoro, Rapino and Pennapiedimonte and Roccamorice in Abruzzo, Italy. Born in the mid-nineties, it consists of two different ski resorts that are neighboring, but not directly connected to each other in terms of skiing: that of Passo Lanciano and that of the Maielletta located along the road that first climbs up to the Bruno Pomilio refuge and then up to Blockhaus, with a catchment area aimed mainly at the lower Abruzzo with the provinces of Pescara and Chieti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Porrara</span> Mountain in Abruzzo, Italy

Mount Porrara is a mountain in the Abruzzi Apennines, located between the lower province of L'Aquila and the province of Chieti, a natural geomorphological continuation south of the Maiella, included in the Maiella National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Amaro (Abruzzo)</span> Mountain in Abruzzo, Italy

Mount Amaro is the highest mountain peak in the Maiella massif and the second highest in the Abruzzo region and the entire continental Apennines, after Gran Sasso's Corno Grande.

The 2024 Giro d'Italia Women will be the 35th edition of the Giro d'Italia Women, a women's road cycling stage race in Italy. The race will take place from 7 to 14 July 2024 and will be the 21st race in the 2024 UCI Women's World Tour calendar. The race is organised by RCS Sport, which also organises the men's Giro d'Italia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Europe Ultra-Prominences". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  2. Romano, M. A.; de Nardis, R.; Garbin, M.; Peruzza, L.; Priolo, E.; Lavecchia, G.; Romanelli, M. (2013). "Temporary seismic monitoring of the Sulmona area (Abruzzo, Italy): quality study of microearthquake locations" (PDF). Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 1: 2353–2395. doi: 10.5194/nhessd-1-2353-2013 .
  3. van Dijk, J.P. (2019); The 7000 Years Long Journey of the Majella Oil Men - The Fascinating Story of Central Italian Hydrocarbon Exploitation and Earth Sciences in the Val Pescara and the Montagna della Majella. 282 pp. ISBN   978-1077215139 ASIN   1077215134 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334290729_The_7000_Years_Long_Journey_of_the_Majella_Oil_Men_-_The_Fascinating_Story_of_Central_Italian_Hydrocarbon_Exploitation_and_Earth_Sciences_in_the_Val_Pescara_and_the_Montagna_della_Majella
  4. "1967 Giro d'Italia". BikeRaceInfo. McGann Publishing. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  5. McVeigh, Niall (14 May 2017). "Geraint Thomas's Giro d'Italia hopes hit by crash as Nairo Quintana takes control". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. "Patience wins as Jai Hindley takes victory on the Blockhaus - CyclingTips". 15 May 2022.
  7. Farrand, Stephen (2023-12-12). "Giro d'Italia Women 2024 route: Blockhaus mountain finish to decide eight-day race". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.