Italy has several great Bouldering Areas that are destination worthy. What better way to escape the crowds and over-tourism issues than plan a road trip through Italy combining Bouldering, Italian Culture, Food and Wine, with Adventure. In the past several years, bouldering in Italy has become just as important as roped climbing and other mountaineering activities. Within the Italian Dolomites, Italian Alps, and Apennine mountain groups there is a good variety of rock types and climbing styles, creating seasonal destinations throughout the country. Sometimes, by combining smaller sites along a projected travel plan, you can keep all levels of climbers and non climbers in your group happy.

Travelling and bouldering widely throughout the country, I found that the destinations with the most developed bouldering areas in Italy are in  the Trentino Alto-Adige, Lombardy Region, Piedmont Region, and Sardinia - in terms of number of sites.  However you will find some surprisingly large sites in the Marche and Tuscany Regions, where you could spend several days. The best areas to climb on granite are in the Trentino-Alto Adige, Piedmont, and Lombardy Regions. If you are looking for sandstone you should head for the Emilia Romagna Region, Tuscany Region, and the Marches. The Islands of Sicily and Sardinia have several great sites to explore that are a course granite. There are also several small sites with volcanic rock throughout the country. So check out our info and start planning your next Stone Crusade. 

About our GUIDE TO BOULDERING IN ITALY

In this guide I am listing places I have visited, plan to visit, and have heard whispers about. Since I do not know who established the all the routes, I can not say who developed the area or provide complete guides to all the blocks. So, before you get upset, accept my apologies in advance, I am trying to provide a good starter guide for individuals to get to an area and start climbing. The joy of the sport is that we can all climb for ourselves and gain our own individual level of success. If you are visiting an area ALWAYS CONSIDER BUYING A LOCAL GUIDEBOOK to find the grades and updated route information, and hopefully helping to support those who clean and develop the area. 

As we are traveling around Italy and climbing we continue to do short reviews of the general information about areas we visit. These are our opinions and viewpoints as a traveler, not a local, so our views may vary from other sites. We evaluate area by the following points:

• How fun is the area (we grade routes as fun, hard, and too hard and are no longer caught up with other grading systems.)
• Ease to reach the area and find the blocs.
• Safety and environment.
• After the bouldering activities or things to see.

Keep in mind the following as you visit any bouldering site:

Bouldering ethics should be simple just walk around, find a boulder and climb it!

• If you do not need to top out don't. Leave the natural plants and moss in place if possible. Remember they are helping create O2 for us.
• Chipping: What you can't remove with a stiff plastic brush should stay (unless something is very loose and dangerous).
• Leaving tick-marks: When red pointing a boulder, it is useful to mark the rock in order to find the holds and mark your sequence. However, it is very important that your drawings are brushed away as to not confuse other climbers.
• Carry your trash and waste out with you. Always have a plastic bag in your pack.
• Be respectful of locals. Save the party for the clubs or other places. Several great places worldwide continue to get closed to climbers due to individuals being rude, dirty, loud, and destructive.