Walks in the Maiella Part 5, Tavola dei Briganti
- Mike
- Jun 23
- 4 min read
This must be everyone's favorite walk in the Maiella National Park because it is without doubt the most scenic and, more importantly for the average recreational hiker, you can drive straight up to 6,5oo feet and park the car at Rifugio Bruno Pomilio.
It's an out-and-back hike so you can decide how far you want to go. Serious hikers go all the way to Monte Amaro but that requires a round trip of about 9 hours to cover 17 miles with 5,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain.
For us it was enough to go a little less than half way to the start of the steep climb between the Tavola dei Briganti and Bivacco Fusco at 8,000 feet. A total out and back distance of about 7.5 miles made for a comfortable 3-4 hour hike that was not particularly strenuous but was certainly a great morning of exercise leaving us more than ready for a good lunch in Caramanico Terme.
The starting point for this walk is the car park at Rifugio Bruno Pomilio where you can grab a coffee and something to eat before starting out. We came here on the last Saturday in August and despite the gorgeous weather it was not particularly crowded. Everyone at the beach probably.
Out on the trail we passed a couple of large groups with guides and other independent hikers like us but most of the time we were on our own. Bike or hike at the weekend and go to the beach midweek would be my advice for people visiting Abruzzo in the summer who want to avoid the crowds.
The main trail that passes through Rifugio Bruno Pomilio is called the Sentiero del Parco and is marked simply as P on the map. It's the signature trail in the entire Maiella National Park and extends for 52 miles right through the core of the park.
It starts at Popoli in the north-west of the Maiella, crosses all of the park's major mountain ranges and finishes in the southern tip of the park close to Pescocostanzo. The entire trail is described as a difficult 4 day hike and the Bruno Pomilio to Monte Amaro stage is day 3 so 'P' is the path to follow on this walk also.
The first 1.5 miles are along a paved path to Blockhaus. This is where the proper trail starts and where two days earlier my epic 3 hour bike ride up this mountain finished. You don't have to earn the views the hard way on this walk because the scenery is sensational right from the start and I can imagine that in clearer autumn skies when the heat haze has gone the distant views must be even better.
Blockhaus got its name from an Austrian military commander who was stationed here with his mercenary troops shortly after Italian Unification in 1861. Their job was to occupy the small fort or blockhaus which had been constructed to subdue the brigands who used to hide in the mountains nearby and had stepped up their lawless activities in response to what they and many others in the southern regions viewed as a Piemontese invasion and occupation rather than a consensual unification of Italy.
Draconian laws were passed by the new Italian state to try these brigands by military tribunal and even the seasonal transumanza of the shepherds with their large flocks of sheep were subject to surveillance and interference by the overbearing authorities.
The limestone rocks just below Monte Cavallo are where the shepherds and brigands inscribed their words of anger against the new regime and its Savoy King, Vittorio Emanuele II, who ruled over Italy from Turin in the immediate post unification period.
After an hour on the trail from Blockhaus you will pass the intersection with the Sentiero delle Gobbe di Selvaromana (G2) which is a steep 7 mile walk up from Pennapiedimonte rated a very difficult EE with almost 5,000 feet of climbing on the ascent so it is not something we will ever be doing.
In comparison to this and various other EE trails that lead up from the valleys, the elevation changes from Blockhaus to the Tavola dei Briganti are all quite gentle but you will see ahead of you that the path gets much steeper going up to Bivacco Fusco and Monte Focalone.
There is a water tap near the Tavola dei Briganti and for those going on to Monte Amaro there is no more water after this one. We continued only for about another half mile and then turned around somewhere in the middle left of the photo below.
The map below is an extract from the indispensable Carta Escursionistica Hiking Map north sheet (Scale 1:25,000) published by the Maiella National Park.
