The Grand Italian Trail (Italian: Sentiero Italia) is a 6166-kilometer-long

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

that crosses the entire territory of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, passing through six

UNESCO Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

, 15

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

, and many other parks and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Overview

The path, which is divided into 368 legs, begins in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

and then crosses the entire

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

Arc, the entire Apennine mountain chain,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

before ending at Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardinia. The trail uses long sections of pre-existing trails including the Grand Alpine Trail (''GTA:

Grande Traversata delle Alpi The ''Grande Traversata delle Alpi'' (GTA) is a long-distance hiking trail in the Italian region of Piedmont. In about and 55 day hikes, it runs through the arc formed by the western Alps from the Pennine Alps through the Graian and Cottian Alp ...

''), the

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

n Mountain Trail (''AVML:

Alta Via dei Monti Liguri The ''Alta Via dei Monti Liguri'' (AV, literally "High Route of the Ligurian Mountains") is a long-distance waymarked hiking trail in the Italian region of Liguria. In about and 44 day hikes, it runs through the arc formed by Ligurian Alps ...

''), and the Tuscan Grand Apennine Trail (''GEA: Grande Escursione Appenninica'').

History

The original idea for this trail originated in 1983 within a group of ambitious hikers. With the help of the Italian Alpine Club, the trail became a reality in 1995 in the first ever ''CamminaItalia'' ("Walk Italy"), an event in which a group of trekkers departed from a Sardinian coastal village and covered the entire trail in eight months. The accomplishment was repeated in 1999; this time with the collaboration of the Italia
National Alpine Association
Since this time, the evolution of this project has slowed. While the trail blaze was chosen for the trail - a marking of red-white-red with "SI" written underneath in black - many legs of the trail remain un-marked and are only a part of the GIT on the map.

Track

The official track is constantly verified and updated at th
official site of the Grand Italian Trail
Each leg is described by a brief summary and completed with a GPS Track easy to download. Besides the historic track, new variants are present, so hikers can adapt their journey and touch other parts of the country. For example, a different starting point of the GIT is set in the heart of Puglia and joins the classic route in the region of Molise. In central Italy a variant enters in the region of Lazio. Other variants can be found also in the norden part of the trail, where a separate path reaches Courmayeur in the region of Valle d'Aosta. However, the original track begins in northern Sardinia and ends in Friuli Venezia Giulia, at a memorial stone in Lazzaretto (near Trieste).

External links

Official site of Grand Italian Trail

Cantiano: Nature and Trails

Overview

History

Track

External links

Further reading