Europe's most southerly icefield is in Abruzzo!
The southernmost glacier in Europe and the only one in the Apennines is located in Abruzzo. It is the Calderone located on the northern slope of Monte Corno. A 'young' glacier that seems to be no more than 600 years old to have formed following the long sequence of icy winters that characterised the 15th century.
It certainly existed and was of respectable size when Captain Francesco De Marchi made the first ascent of the mountain in August 1573. De Marchi described it as a 'mile long and half a mile wide valley where snow is perpetual'.
A glacier in the centre of Italy is one of the many surprises in store for this incredible region that seems to encapsulate everything beautiful that nature can give us.
Alongside its famous beaches, Abruzzo boasts an extensive mountainous and hilly area with natural landscapes of great beauty where the boundless karst plains of the Gran Sasso alternate with the canyons of the Majella, the dense forests of the Laga, pastures, waterfalls and caves.
It is an area that fascinates precisely because it still preserves intact all its natural characteristics of places as majestic as the Gran Sasso or as wild as certain rocky glimpses.
This immense natural treasure is protected by three National Parks, a Regional Park and 38 regional and state oases and reserves.
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