Rock climbing at Bismantova
Bismantova is a massive, anvil-shaped sandstone buttress standing above the village of Castelnuovo ne’ Monti, to the south of Reggio Emilia and west of Genova. Situated in the heart of the Emilian Apennines there is some great bolted multi-pitch rock climbing to be found at Bismantova. Many of these routes are between 100m and 150m long, as well as many single pitch sport routes. In total there are over 250 routes.
Map showing the location of the rock climbing at Bismantova
The characteristic of the climbing at Bismantova is on steep vertical walls with many corners and grooves. The routes tend to be technical with crimpy holds and cracks, across a wide range of grades between F4 and F8c. Though the vast majority of the routes are fully bolted there are some routes (generally easier ones) that also require some trad gear such as cams and nuts.
Barbara Spallanzani climbing the 130m route of Zuffa ’70 at Bismantova. This route is a Bismantova classic that follows a strong natural line.
The Pietra di Bismantova is the comprehensive guidebook covering the rock climbing at Bismantova. Published in 2020, it covers both the multi-pitch routes and the single pitch sport routes. Buy this Pietra di Bismantova guidebook from our shop.