Introduction: Monte Gennaro is Rome's mountain par excellence. When in winter the sky is clear and its summit is covered in snow, you can see its outline even from distant Via Cristoforo Colombo, the great thoroughfare that leads to the sea.
Route features: A route that is simple to follow but physically very demanding because of the height gain and the relentless gradient. A very imposing balcony that on the clearest days can be truly astonishing over Rome and the Monti Lucretili Regional Park
To understand the EE- grade, see the hiking difficulty scale.
Route description
By car or on foot you go up Via Teofilo da Corte, which is only partly tarmacked and in some places very run-down. At the first fork you turn right. After a few metres the road becomes a dirt track. You carry on as far as a shelter with the hiking signs. Here there's no other option: you leave the car.
You climb along a very rough dirt track with traces of cement/tarmac, now completely broken up. From here you reach an enclosure where the hiking route proper begins. You turn right onto a very clearly visible little path.
This path won't let go of us until the ridge that joins the summit of Monte Gennaro to the Torre del Monte Morrone della Croce. This path is very clean and never stony. So comfortable that it is pleasant both going down and going up. You climb in wide zigzags, over and over again.
The walk is pleasant even in summer, since it is always in the shade.
At the saddle of Monte Morrone della Croce you come out close to a vehicle track coming from Stazzano. You turn right and carry on towards the clearly visible summit of Monte Gennaro.
You leave the dirt track when you spot a little path with red-and-white waymarks that will take you over rocks and rocky steps up to the summit.
The climb to Monte Gennaro from Palombara Sabina is a classic for Romans and for Sunday hikers who don't want to go too far from the city. It's a cheap outing that doesn't involve much expense because it's so close (for Romans at least).
Variants and alternatives
The alternative ascents are really separate routes in their own right. The climb is in fact more or less fixed. The detour to the Torre del Monte Morrone is the only variant of the route, and it takes an extra half-hour's walk.
Notes on effort and difficulty
Frequently asked questions
How demanding is the climb to Monte Gennaro from Palombara Sabina?
It is graded EE- (Escursionisti Esperti: for experienced hikers; the - marks the lower end of the grade): the path is clearly visible but physically demanding, because the gradient is continuous and allows no breaks. From Palombara Sabina it is 12 km out and back with 1177 metres of height gain; starting from the trailhead you save 1.5 km.
Where do you leave the car to climb Monte Gennaro from Palombara Sabina?
You go up Via Teofilo da Corte, turn right at the first fork and carry on along the road, which becomes a dirt track, as far as a shelter with the hiking signs: here you leave the car and continue on foot.
