Apennines, the backbone of Italy, from Liguria to Calabria.

What are the Apennines?

The Apennines are the mountain range that runs through Italy from north to south like a backbone: more than 1,200 km from the Cadibona pass, in Liguria, where they separate from the Alps, to the tip of Calabria, facing Sicily. In the north they skirt the Gulf of Genoa and close off the Po plain; in the centre they open into high limestone massifs; in the south they narrow between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. The highest point is the Corno Grande, at 2,912 m, in the Gran Sasso massif, in Abruzzo.

They are usually divided into three sections. The northern Apennines, the Ligurian and the Tuscan-Emilian, are wooded hills and only exceed 2,000 m at Monte Cimone, at 2,165 m. The central ones, in Umbria, Marche, Lazio and Abruzzo, are the highest: the Gran Sasso, the Majella, with Monte Amaro at almost 2,800 m, the Sibillini, the Laga mountains and Velino-Sirente all exceed 2,000 m. The southern ones, through Campania, Basilicata and Calabria, end in the Pollino, the Sila and the Aspromonte.

It is a very different mountain from the Alps. There are fewer glaciers, fewer lifts and fewer huts, and more stone villages on hilltops, transhumance pastures, beech woods and wildlife: wolves, deer and, in Abruzzo, the Marsican brown bear.

How do you get there and get around?

The airports that leave you closest are Rome, Bologna, Pescara, Naples and Florence, all with flights from Spain. Rome is the best gateway for the central Apennines: from Rome to L'Aquila it is about 115 km and a little over an hour and a quarter on the A24 motorway, which crosses the Gran Sasso through a tunnel of about 10 km; to the Abruzzo park, at Pescasseroli, about 160 km and two hours; to Norcia and the Sibillini, also about 160 km but two and a half hours, on slower roads. Bologna and Florence are about 110 km apart on the A1 motorway, which crosses the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines in an hour and a half.

For the mountains you need a car. There are regional trains that cross them, such as the line from Rome to Pescara via Avezzano and Sulmona, slow but useful, and buses from Rome to L'Aquila, but the high villages and trailheads are reached almost only by road. On foot, the Sentiero Italia of the Club Alpino Italiano runs the whole length of the range.

What to see in the Apennines?

In Abruzzo, the Gran Sasso: the Campo Imperatore plateau, about 27 km long, reached by a cable car from Fonte Cerreto up to 2,128 m, the climb to the Corno Grande, Rocca Calascio castle and villages such as Santo Stefano di Sessanio. To the south, the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise national park, with Pescasseroli as a base, and the Majella park, with hermitages carved into the rock.

In Umbria and Marche, the Sibillini mountains, with Monte Vettore and the Castelluccio di Norcia plateau, which is covered in flowers in early summer. Assisi rises on the slope of Monte Subasio, with trails that start from the walls. In Lazio, Subiaco, in the Simbruini mountains, with its monasteries hanging from the rock, is a day trip from Rome.

In the north, between Tuscany and Romagna, the Foreste Casentinesi hold ancient beech woods and the sanctuaries of Camaldoli and La Verna, and Bologna lies at the foot of the range. Where the Apennines meet the sea are two of the best-known coasts in Italy: the Cinque Terre, with its terraces over the Mediterranean, and the Amalfi Coast, above the Lattari mountains. In the south, the Pollino, the Sila and the Aspromonte are the least visited part.

When to go and what changes with the season?

June, July, September and October are the best months. In June the high meadows are green and in flower, and the Castelluccio plain is usually in full bloom between mid-June and mid-July, depending on the year; on the busiest weekends the road has been closed to cars. August is good for the high mountains, but coincides with the Italian holidays and Ferragosto, and villages and car parks fill up at weekends. October brings the colours of the beech woods and mushrooms.

From December to March it snows in the central massifs and ski resorts such as Campo Imperatore, Roccaraso, Abetone or Cimone operate; high roads may close. March and April are transitional months, with snow above and mud below.

How many days and how to divide them?

With two or three days you can do one massif from Rome: the Gran Sasso, with Campo Imperatore and Rocca Calascio, or the Abruzzo park. With five days there is room for the Gran Sasso and the Majella, or the Gran Sasso and the Sibillini. With a week or more you can go from north to south along the central Apennines, joining Umbria and Abruzzo, and link up with the Adriatic coast or with Rome. For the southern Apennines, count on a separate trip from Naples or from Calabria.

What do you need to know before you go?

The range is a seismic zone. The 2009 earthquake hit L'Aquila and those of 2016 damaged Amatrice, Norcia and other villages in the Sibillini; some old towns are still under works and some trails or roads may be cut, so check the park's website before you go. In the mountains the weather changes fast, and in summer afternoon storms are frequent. Italian motorways have tolls. In small villages there is little accommodation: in August and on long weekends, book ahead.