Campo Imperatore

Campo Imperatore, also nicknamed “Little Tibet”, is a high plateau about 27 km long in the Gran Sasso National Park, at 1,600 to 2,100 m above sea level, near L’Aquila. In winter it is a ski area. In summer, hikers set out from here for peaks such as the Corno Grande, Monte Aquila and the Tramoggia, or visit the church of Madonna della Neve.

Other points of interest include the glacial Lake Pietranzoni, a monument to the shepherd Pupo Nunzio in the Fonte Vetica area, a large botanical garden and the Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo, which italia.it counts among the most important in southern Europe. Because the plateau is high and treeless, changes in the weather are felt quickly; summer and early autumn are usually better for walking. The hotel on the plateau held the deposed dictator Benito Mussolini from August 1943 until German commandos freed him on 12 September 1943. The landscape has also served as a backdrop for more than 20 films, including “The Name of the Rose” and “Ladyhawke”. Check access and road conditions beforehand (as of October 2026).