PIETRA DI BISMANTOVA ROCK CLIMBING AREA | EMILIA ROMAGNA REGION

Bismantova is located in the hills south of Reggio Emilia and is a large sandstone mesa that dominates the area. I first climbed here in the 90's, the quality of the sandstone was surprising. However, I found out quickly that it was not an area to climb at when the sun is overhead.  Luckly there are plenty of sectors all the way around this unique rock formation, facing each cardinal direction, that can be climbed based on weather and time of day.  The routes tend to technical and the holds very demanding on the fingers. The better routes are polished and you will need idea conditions to climb at the grade listed if you are trying to onsight.

The Hills of the local area are beautiful and there are several off the beaten path tourist attractions, that make this a nice two to three day climbing location. Also, nearby is the bouldering area of Ceriolo. The Pietra di Bismantova is mentioned by Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy (Purgatory, IV, 25-30).

BISMANTOVA ROCK CLIMBING GUIDE

REGION	Emilia Romagna
PROVINCE	Reggio Emilia
CLOSEST TOWN	Castelmovo ne'Monti
GEOGRAPHY	Apennine
BEST TIME OF YEAR	All year
APPROACH TIME	5 min
ROCK	Compact Sandstone
HEIGHT	200 meters
RANGE OF GRADES	4 - 8b (250+ routes)
GUIDEBOOK/MAPS

RECOMMENDED ROUTES

• Fessura Zuffa 6a+
• Silver cat 6a
• Sesso & sasso 6c
• Ilusioni 7a
• Karin B 7c
• Schizo 7c
• No a la chasse 8a

Sectors:

• Moby Dick
• Cocoa
• Nino Marchi
• Pilone Giallo
• Torrione Sirotti
• Roberta aiutami
• Gare Nuove
• Gabri
• Gare Vecchie
• Anfiteatro basso
• Sasso sul sentiero
• Pilone Giallo
• I massi
• Diamante e rubino
• La Bettola
• Masso del parcheggio
• La sfinge
• Pesce lesso