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fonte cerreto |
| Bus #6 from L'Aquila's Corso Vittorio Emanuele runs regularly up to
FONTE CERRETO , the gateway to Campo Imperatore - basically two hotels,
a restaurant and a campsite clustered around a cable car station. Most
of these were built in the Thirties as part of Mussolini's scheme to
keep Italians fit by encouraging them to take exercise in the mountains.
Ironically, he was imprisoned here in 1943, first at the Villetta inn in
Fonte Cerreto, and then at the Albergo-Rifugio Campo Imperatore , a grim
hotel at the top of the cable car route. Apparently it was with some
trepidation that Mussolini stepped into the cable car, enquiring whether
it was safe and then hastily covering his cowardice by adding, "Not for
my sake, you understand, because my life is over. But for those who
accompany me." Il Duce apparently spent his days at the hotel on a diet
of eggs, rice, boiled onions and grapes, contemplating suicide. Hitler
came to his rescue, dispatching an ace pilot to airlift him out in a
tiny aeroplane, which is supposed to have terrified Mussolini almost as
much as the cable car. The cable car that so spooked Mussolini has been replaced by a new one which runs in winter for skiing and for the summer hiking season (1 July-15 November Mon-Sat 8.30am-6pm, Sun 7.30am-7pm; winter reduced service depending on snow fall; return journey L18,000/9.30). A small information office (Fri-Mon 10am-12.30pm & 1.30-5.30pm) to the side of the Villetta hotel has details of walks and wildlife to be seen in the Gran Sasso park. You can still stay at the Villetta (tel 0862.606.171; L120,000-150,000/61.98-77.47) though it's now a pleasant modernized hotel over a snack-bar; or Villetta 's larger sister hotel Fiordigigli (tel 0862.606.172; L120,000-150,000/61.98-77.47) also at the base of the cable car. There's cheaper accommodation in two mountain refuges run by CAI: one of these is the Ostello Campo Imperatore (tel 0862.400.011; L30,000/15.50, or L55.000/28.40 for dinner, bed and breakfast; 1 June to 15 Sept), which occupies the old cable car station; the other is the Duca degli Abruzzi rifugio (tel 0347.623.2101; L50,000/25.82 for dinner, bed and breakfast), several metres beyond. It's now the most popular starting-point for assaults on the Gran Sasso's highest peak, the Corno Grande (2912m). Outside the summer months, the ascent of Corno Grande should only be attempted by experienced climbers, and at all times includes some fairly killing scree-climbing and alarming descents. Perhaps the most challenging route is the tough trek from the Ostello Campo Imperatore right across the mountain range, taking in the Corno Grande, sleeping over at the Rifugio Franchetti (tel 0861.959.634; L30,000/15.50, or L60,000/30.98 for dinner, bed and breakfast; mid-June to mid-Sept), and then walking across to the Arapietra ridge. From here a ski lift will take you down to the ugly ski resort of Prati di Tivo - which nevertheless offers some of the best views of Gran Sasso - from where you can get a bus to the town of Téramo. If you're going to do any of the Gran Sasso trails, you'll need the CAI Gran Sasso d'Italia map, and should check out weather conditions from the CAI office in L'Aquila. |