gran-sasso

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (/ˈæpənaɪn/; Greek: Ἀπέννινα Ὄρη, Latin: Appenninus or Apenninus Mons—a singular used in the plural; Italian: Appennini) are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) along the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join with the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since about 2000 the Ministry of the Environment of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has been defining the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, for a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east side of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas.

Corno Grande is part of the Gran Sasso massif, and is the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains and the highest on the Italian Peninsula, at 2,912 m above sea level.

Its northern corrie holds Europe's southernmost glacier, Calderone glacier (Ghiacciaio del Calderone).

The first recorded ascent of Corno Grande was made in 1573 by the Bolognese captain Francesco De Marchi together with Francesco Di Domenico.

The usual route of ascent is via the western ridge, although a number of other routes exist including one that ascends the southern face.