Roccaraso - Rivisondoli: Ski area guide

The biggest in the Apennines

Roccaraso sits at 1,236 metres on the Altopiano delle Cinquemiglia plateau, in the province of L’Aquila. It is the hub of the largest ski area in Italy south of the Alps.

With 130 km of runs across the Alto Sangro and 32 lifts, the ski area that joins Roccaraso, Rivisondoli and Pescocostanzo has no rival in the Apennines. In scale and variety it holds its own against many medium-sized alpine resorts.

What really makes it unique, though, is its location. Being little more than two hours by motorway from Rome makes it the winter escape for millions of Italians in central and southern Italy, who for generations saw skiing as a pleasure reserved for people in the Alps.

Two hours from Rome, less from Naples

Easy access is Roccaraso’s first selling point. The A25 motorway, which climbs into Abruzzo from Rome’s ring road, takes you to the Roccaraso exit in about two hours from Rome when traffic is flowing. From Naples, via the A1 to Caianello and then east, the journey takes about two and a half hours.

Nowhere else in central and southern Italy is there a ski resort this size so close to two big cities. The Sunday-morning queues of cars heading up the A25 are almost part of local folklore. At weekends Roccaraso gets as busy as a big alpine resort in high season, with lift queues and a lively buzz in the village.

The Alto Sangro ski area

The runs are spread across four main areas: Roccaraso, Rivisondoli, Pescocostanzo and the Monte Pratello slopes.

• Monte Secine and Pizzalto, above Rivisondoli, have the most technical black runs, with sustained gradients and a good range of aspects.
• Roccaraso’s intermediate runs draw most of the Sunday crowds and feel the pressure most on peak days.
• Pescocostanzo, a medieval village considered one of the most beautiful in Italy, offers a quieter way in to less crowded runs, in a very attractive historic setting.

Snowmaking covers about 90% of the runs. That has steadily reduced the reliance on natural snow and extended the season into December and March, traditionally the least predictable months in the central Apennines. The highest lifts, above Roccaraso, reach 2,141 metres, which keeps it cold enough even in low-snow winters.

Glamour and history

Roccaraso is also known as the ‘Cortina of the South’, a nickname that mixes admiration for the resort’s glamour with some affectionate irony about the comparison with the famous Dolomite resort.

Roccaraso’s history as a holiday resort goes back to the 1930s, when the plateau became a favourite with the Roman and Neapolitan middle classes looking for cool summers and winter snow. The Second World War almost completely destroyed the village, which was rebuilt from scratch in the 1950s and 1960s. That explains the modern look of the centre: little historic architecture survives, but the village has built a welcoming, lively identity that a loyal crowd of regular visitors loves.

Getting there

The main access is the A25 motorway, with the Roccaraso exit about 100 km from Rome and 150 km from Naples.

Roccaraso railway station, on the Sulmona-Carpinone line, lets you get here without a car. It is a little-known but workable option, with shuttle buses to the lifts at weekends.