Gran Sasso d'Italia / Campo Imperatore from Bazzano is a climb in the region L'Aquila. It is 40.2 km long and bridges 1660 m of vertical ascent with an average gradient of 4.1%, resulting in a difficulty score of 993. The top of the ascent is located at 2128 m above sea level. Climbfinder users shared 5 reviews of this climb and uploaded 20 photos.
Road name: SS17bis
5.0 by Van_der_LucThis is an automatic translation, the original language is: Italian.The climb from Paganica is very long. At Fonte Cerreto (1100 metres and the site of the cable car) there are the last fountains, where you can refuel with water, then there is no more until the arrival at the Campo Imperatore Hotel (2130 metres). There is a splendid view of the entire Gran Sasso on the L'Aquila side from Campo Imperatore, where the final climb begins with challenging gradients of around 10%. At the finish is the bar next to the cable car, the Astronomical Observatory and ... read more
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A very long but never excessively steep climb, ideal to tackle at one's own pace. As shown by the altimetry, after Monte Cristo you cross a long spectacular stretch immersed in the valley, truly fascinating from a landscape point of view.
Excellent asphalt and wide roadway throughout the climb.
Salita molto lunga ma mai eccessivamente pendente, ideale da affrontare con il proprio ritmo. Come evidenziato dall’altimetria, dopo Monte Cristo si attraversa un lungo tratto spettacolare immerso nella vallata, davvero affascinante dal punto di vista paesaggistico.
Asfalto ottimo e carreggiata ampia lungo tutta la salita.
I started from Assergi and it was a wonderful climb (August 2023). Midweek day, very little traffic and a few cyclists to exchange greetings with. Beautiful scenery...a bit windy but absolutely worth it.
Sono partito da Assergi ed è stata una salita meravigliosa (agosto 2023). Giorno infrasettimanale, pochissimo traffico e qualche ciclista con cui scambiare un saluto. Paesaggio stupendo...un po' ventoso ma ne vale assolutamente la pena.
One of my favourite days on the bike. Sort of 2 climbs really. The climb to the Gran Sasso plateau is long but gentle. Once up on the plateau the scenery is stunning and very different. The road surface isn’t good, but it doesn’t distract from the beauty. I did it at the weekend and it was fairly busy with cars and a lot of motorcycles. There is a long rolling section to cross the plateau which is stunning. The climb up to Campo Imperatore is short but steep on a very heavy road surface, it’s a bit of a shock after the previous climbing. There are places to eat at the summit and also on the plateau. This really is a must do climb.
A climb tackled several times and most recently in August 2025.
The part up to the Assergi motorway exit has a good road surface but is very busy, even with heavy vehicles, and has a roadway that is not particularly wide and with many bends.
After the traffic decreases, the heavy vehicles disappear, not the caravans though, but the road surface is rather deteriorated in some places, requiring great care on the downhill return journey.
The landscape becomes very interesting: first part in the forest and then in the open with the rather likely possibility of having to live with the wind for long stretches.
There are many drinking fountains up to the cable car departure point, then nothing until the arrival; however, there are some mobile refreshment points.
An ascent to be made at least once because it has nothing to envy to the more famous Alpine climbs.
Salita affrontata più volte e recentemente nel mese di Agosto 2025.
La parte fino al casello autostradale di Assergi ha un buon manto stradale ma é molto trafficata, anche da mezzi pesanti, ed ha una carreggiata non particolarmente ampia e con molte curve.
Dopo il traffico diminuisce, spariscono i mezzi pesanti, non i caravan però, ma il manto stradale è piuttosto deteriorato in alcuni punti che richiedono molta attenzione al ritorno in discesa.
Il panorama diventa molto interessante: prima parte nel bosco e poi allo scoperto con la possibilità, piuttosto probabile, di dover convivere con il vento per lunghi tratti.
Molte fontanelle fino alla partenza della funivia, poi nulla fino all'arrivo; si incontrano però alcuni punti ristoro mobili.
Salita da fare almeno una volta perché non ha nulla da invidiare a quelle alpine più famose.
The climb from Paganica is very long. At Fonte Cerreto (1100 metres and the site of the cable car) there are the last fountains, where you can refuel with water, then there is no more until the arrival at the Campo Imperatore Hotel (2130 metres). There is a splendid view of the entire Gran Sasso on the L'Aquila side from Campo Imperatore, where the final climb begins with challenging gradients of around 10%. At the finish is the bar next to the cable car, the Astronomical Observatory and the start of the walk to the summit of Corno Grande.
La salita da Paganica è molto lunga. A Fonte Cerreto (metri 1100 e sede della Funivia) ci sono le ultime fontane, dove fare rifornimento d'acqua, poi non ce ne sono più fino all'arrivo dell'Albergo di Campo Imperatore (metri 2130). Splendida vista di tutto il Gran Sasso lato L'Aquila da Campo Imperatore, dove inizia la salita finale con pendenze impegnative intorno al 10%. All'arrivo c'è il bar a fianco della Funivia, l'Osservatorio Astronomico e l'inizio del tratto a piedi fino alla vetta del Corno Grande.
| 7 km/h | 05:44:52 |
| 11 km/h | 03:39:27 |
| 15 km/h | 02:40:56 |
| 19 km/h | 02:07:03 |
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