For those who love hiking despite the colder temperatures of the winter period, Italy is the ideal place: this country offers many magical places to walk. Despite the cold (and maybe some snow!), this period is perfect for traveling to the peninsula for several reasons: you find very few people, the prices are much more affordable, accommodation is easy to find and you can enjoy the wonderful winter landscapes in peace.
Here are some of the routes we highly recommend:
1. Via dell’Essenza, Elba Island (Tuscany)
The Via dell’Essenza is a walk that allows you to discover the island by walking along its coast.
You can walk for 127 km overlooking the sea in 12 stops, each one dedicated to a typical essence of the island. A relaxing walk, characterized by the amazing scents you pass through and the beautiful colours of this island. Since Elba is an island that can be windy, we recommend our polypropylene fleece for this route.
The Via dell’Essenza path is suitable for everyone, with trails ranging from 6 km to 15 and with many rest areas to stop.
2. Sentiero del Viandante, from Lecco to Como (Lombardy)
It is an itinerary of about 45 kilometres, suitable for everyone and that can be completed in 2/3 days, walking among the panoramas of Lake Como. From Lecco to Colico, you can walk a trial which has a splendid view of the snow-capped Alps.
Among the characteristics of this wonderful walk, there are clean air, local food suitable for the climate (the typical polenta) and all the lakeside villages are well equipped for hospitality.
3. Via Matilde, from Mantua to Lucca (Lombardy, Emilia, Tuscany)
This trail passes through sweet hills and villages, without climbing any high altitudes. A slow-paced itinerary, based on spirituality and evocative landscapes, and that can offer the unique food and wine of this part of Italy.
4. Cammino delle Terre Mutate, from Fabriano to L’Aquila (Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo)
In this area, the snow can be an obstacle, while at the same time it is one more reason to do the Terre Mutate trail, one of the most beautiful hikes in Italy. The walk is 200 km, it crosses 4 regions, from Fabriano to L’Aquila, along the Apennine ridge which has been shaken several times by earthquakes.
Since temperatures can vary and it can also be very cold, we recommend our Unisex Adventure Down Jacket, which will protect you from the cold and wind.
The view on this trail will change: splendid villages that are being rebuilt after the shocks of the earthquake between the Monti Sibillini National Park and the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, as well as the magic of the Campo Imperatore plateau, which in winter is as beautiful as a fairy tale.
5. Path of the Gods, from Agerola to Positano (Campania)
A trail that can be walked all year round, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Path of the Gods is a short walk (9 km) on the Amalfi Coast, to be done in the day in the Lattari Mountains and with a view of the sea. Walking along the coast looking at Capri has no equal, so much so that legend says that the gods of ancient Greece walked it: hence the name of the path.
Important to know: there are two paths, the lower one and the higher one (more evocative and demanding).
6. Sentiero dell’Inglese, from Pentedattilo to Staiti (Calabria)
This Calabrian path was first tries by the English landscape architect Edward Lear in the mid-1800s. It can be tricky to walk in winter, given the absence of directions. But it is a real adventure: a journey of 110 km in 7 stops in the heart of the Aspromonte, among rugged hills and villages, which stayed frozen in time. This trail goes through the region of Calabria Grecanica, the village area on the tip of the beautiful country where the traditions of Magna Graecia survive, including the cuisine. There is no shortage of dense forests, ghost towns, and impressive geological formations.
7. Walk of the 100 Towers, from Cagliari (Sardinia)
This trail is 1300 km and it needs 70 days to be completed: it is impossible to do it all, but even making it shorter is enough. The 100 towers (105 in reality) are those scattered on the beaches of all Sardinia: you will see them on this almost entirely coastal loop path.
You can start from Cagliari, Oristano, Alghero, Arbatax, Porto Torres and walk through villages, dunes, secret bays and Mediterranean scrub.
In winter it is the best: pleasant climate, no one around, still warm hospitality.
8. Magna Via Francigena, from Palermo to Agrigento (Sicily)
Touring Sicily in winter and on foot is a dream.
The Magna Via Francigena was created by a group of researchers and volunteer walkers and is loved by many.
It is a network of 900 km throughout Sicily, with paths that cross each other, to ‘combine’ your trails ad hoc. There is the classic Palermo-Agrigento route (9 stops), the long Palermo-Messina that goes up to Nebrodi and Madonie (snow here is almost guaranteed) and the coastal stretch of the Via Francigena Mazarense, from Palermo to Mazara del Vallo.
For the Sicilian winter, we recommend our polypropylene leggings, which besides being anti-abrasion is anti-stain and thermoregulatory, ideal for long walks.
There is the classic Palermo-Agrigento route (9 stages), the long Palermo-Messina that goes up to Nebrodi and Madonie (snow is almost guaranteed) and the coastal stretch of the Via Francigena Mazarense, from Palermo to Mazara del Vallo.
