Mount Grappa
1,777 m
Italy
Also known as Cima Grappa, Monte Grappa, +1Also known as
Cima Grappa · Monte Grappa · Монте Граппа
- Elevation
- 1,777 m
- Prominence
- 1,456 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: E (Italian hiking scale) (magicoveneto.it)
A panoramic walk, mostly over open pasture, from the meadows of Campo Croce (about 1,060 m) above Borso del Grappa up the south ridge past Monte Meda to the First World War ossuary on the summit. About 800 m and 2 hours up. The full path 100 from Valle Santa Felicita adds 700 m and 3 hours.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 6.7 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +781 m
- −63 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 1,776 m
- Time Up
- 3h 34m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 36m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Drive from Borso del Grappa or Semonzo up the Strada Generale Giardino to the pastures of Campo Croce (about 1,060 m). Path 100 crosses the pasture and climbs towards Malga Camol, re-enters woodland briefly and then follows the broad, grassy south ridge (Monte Palla) through open pasture with wide views over the Venetian plain. Near Monte Meda (about 1,616 m) path 180 joins, and the path continues up to the Sacrario Militare and the summit (1,775 m): about 2 hours and 800 m from Campo Croce. The full CAI path 100 starts in Valle Santa Felicita between Romano d'Ezzelino and Semonzo (about 270 m): it leaves the valley road shortly after a wayside shrine, climbs steeply through woods to Campo Croce and continues as above, 13 km, about 1,500–1,600 m and 5 hours to the summit, so allow a long day for the return. Descend the same way (about 1½ hours to Campo Croce). The summit is also reached by road, so expect crowds, cars and motorbikes at the top on fine weekends; Rifugio Bassano beside the ossuary serves food. There is no water on the ridge (karst), and summer haze and fog are common; the open ridge is exposed to thunderstorms.
Start
Campo Croce1,058 m
- Buses run from Bassano del Grappa to Romano d'Ezzelino, Semonzo and Borso del Grappa (not verified); no public transport to Campo Croce was found
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campo Croce → Monte Grappa | 6.7 | 781 | 63 | 3h 34m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Campo Croce1,058 m
- Feature: Malga Camol1,299 m
- Feature: Monte Meda1,622 m
- Hut: Rifugio Bassano1,731 m
- Summit: Monte Grappa1,777 m
Key Passages
- Open grassy south ridge above Campo Croce
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 70%Overview
The 1,776 m high point of the Grappa massif between the Brenta and the Piave, crowned by the vast First World War ossuary that holds the remains of more than 22,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers. A road reaches the top, but walking up from Campo Croce or San Liberale is the better way to understand the battlefield.
Monte Grappa rises abruptly from the Venetian plain north of Bassano del Grappa, on the borders of the provinces of Vicenza, Treviso and Belluno. The Brenta valley separates it from the Asiago plateau to the west, and the Piave from the Cesen–Visentin ridge to the east. It is a limestone massif of broad grassy ridges, beech and spruce forest, caves and sinkholes; karst drainage means there are almost no streams high up. Since 2021 it has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
From November 1917 to October 1918, after the defeat at Caporetto, the massif was the pillar of the Italian defensive line, and three battles were fought across its ridges. The summit carries the Sacrario Militare (1935), a stepped pyramid of five concentric rings topped by the Madonnina del Grappa shrine, the Austro-Hungarian ossuary, the 300 m Via Eroica between them and the entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III, a military tunnel system over 1.5 km long.
A dense network of marked CAI paths climbs from every side, from short walks of 800 m to long climbs of 1,500 m from the plain. Because a road reaches the summit, the top is busy with cars, motorbikes and cyclists on fine weekends, while the paths remain much quieter.
Climbing Notes
No technical difficulty on the normal routes; they are marked E paths for anyone with average hill fitness. From Campo Croce the summit is 2 hours and 800 m away; from San Liberale or Valle Santa Felicita expect 3½–5 hours and 1,100–1,600 m up, with long, hot forest sections at the bottom. Carry all your water, as there are no springs on the ridges, and start early in summer to avoid heat and the afternoon haze and thunderstorms. Rifugio Bassano by the summit serves food.
The mountain can be walked in most months: spring and autumn are best for views and temperature, while winter brings snow on the upper ridges that may need microspikes or snowshoes. Use the CAI map 'Canale del Brenta e Massiccio del Grappa' 1:25,000. The summit area is a war memorial; behave respectfully.
History
The Battles of Monte Grappa were fought between 11 November 1917 and 24 October 1918; Italian troops held the line from Valderoa to Col Caprile, and the Austro-Hungarian defeat in the third battle preceded the collapse at Vittorio Veneto. The ossuary, designed by Giovanni Greppi with the sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, was inaugurated by King Victor Emmanuel III on 22 September 1935; it holds 12,615 Italian soldiers (10,332 unidentified) and, in a separate ossuary, 10,295 Austro-Hungarian dead. In the Second World War partisans sheltering on the mountain were killed by German forces and survivors were hanged publicly in Bassano. A NATO radar base built after the war was demolished in the 1970s.
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Good
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Good
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Snow on the upper ridges; snowshoes or microspikes
- Feb
- Snow on the upper ridges
- Mar
- Snow patches on north slopes
- May
- Spring flowers on the pastures
- Jul
- Hot and hazy low down; afternoon thunderstorms
- Aug
- Hot; summit crowded with cars and motorbikes
- Oct
- Clear autumn days; beech woods in colour
- Nov
- Fog and short days
- Dec
- Snow possible
Access & Permits
- Rules
- The summit is a military memorial (Sacrario Militare del Monte Grappa); the museum gallery is under army supervision
- Getting There
Bassano del Grappa
Venice Marco Polo (VCE) or Treviso (TSF)
- Car: from Romano d'Ezzelino (Valle Santa Felicita, towards Semonzo) or Borso del Grappa (Campo Croce via the Strada Generale Giardino); from Paderno del Grappa to Valle San Liberale
- The summit is also reached by a paved road (the historic Strada Cadorna and others); routes not verified for current closures
- Train to Bassano del Grappa; local buses to the villages at the foot of the massif (not verified)
Hazards
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
1- 1,750 m
Rifugio BassanoHut