Technical data

Difficulty: easy

Period: all year round

Municipality: Palizzi

Location: Carmine

Contributors: Trovato, Basagni, D’Arrigo

Difficulty: from 4 to 4b

Altitude of the cliff location: 506 metres above sea level

Maximum height: 20 metres

Exposure: south east

Number of routes: 2 (to be increased)

Latest update: November 2015

A veritable paradise for those who enjoy this sport. The district, however small, has great potential: many possibilities for bouldering, vertical walls for rock manoeuvring and some waiting to be fitted out so as to provide various degrees of difficulty, single-pitch and non. The road, though close by, does not disturb concentration because climbers are captured by their surroundings and the panorama stretching down to the Ionian Sea. A modest fee allows one to climb all year round. In winter the place remains sheltered from wind and currents, while, during the summer the routes are almost entirely shaded by trees. The only rests at the moment are provided by fix and chain.

Arriving by car

Take the SS 106 in the Taranto direction and then after the town of Palizzi Marina and before reaching the hamlet of Spropoli, take the SP 165 for Pietrapennata. Drive on for about 7 km until you reach the Chiesa del Carmine on the crossroads between Palizzi Superiore and Pietrapennata. Turn right in the direction of Pietrapennata and about 500 metres further on, at a panoramic hairpin bend, you will spot the cliff just below the road, hidden by a crag.

Source: Guida Naturalistica della Calabria Greca – Alfonso Picone – Rubbettino Editore – Collana Parco Culturale della Calabria Greca.

Text and photos by Demy D’Arrigo.