Tuscany rock climbing

Tuscany is well known for its beautiful landscapes, medieval villages and its rich artistic legacy.  Within this beautiful landscape there are many fantastic crags that offer a wide range of rock climbing, from single pitch sports routes to long multi-pitch routes across a wide range of grades.

The map opposite shows the main rock climbing areas in Tuscany.  This information has been extracted from the current guidebook for the area called “Toscana E Isola D’Elba”, which details 47 different crags and many 100's of routes.

The range of rock climbing available in Tuscany is very wide and varied.  Around the town of Carrara there many crags that offer bolted multi-pitch routes up to 250m long, whilst the Pizzo D’Uccello crag provides some big wall routes up to 550m long.  Situated between Viareggio and Lucca there are a series of crags called IL Camaiorese, which provide some very powerful single pitch sports routes.  Many of these routes require steady F7a climbing as they are either up steep tufas or through overhanging roofs. Within other areas there are plenty of other single pitch sports routes across a wide range of grades such as Le Rocchette (again near Viareggio) and Monsummano near Pistoia.

The island of Elba is one of those magic places where it is possible to combine a climbing holiday with family and friends.  The beaches and beautiful scenery make the island of Elba a popular holiday destination.  Also situated on the island 7 separate crags that offer everything from sea cliff climbing to multi-pitch routes, with many mid range climbs (F5’s through to low F7’s) on granite rock.  The majority of the routes are single pitch sports routes with some bolted multi-pitch routes up to 170m long on the Monte San Bartolomeo crag.

The photograph opposite shows an unknown climber powering up steep tufas in the IL Camaiorese area between Viareggio and Lucca. This photograph appears on the front cover of the rock climbing guidebook for Tuscany called “Toscana E Isola D’Elba”, which is available to buy from our shop.

Logistics

The best time of the year to rock climb in Tuscany is either the spring or autumn, though some of the crags are at an altitude of over 1,000m making it possible to climb in these areas in the summer.  Getting to Tuscany is very easy with international airports at Florence (Peretola airport) and Pisa (Galileo Galilei Airport) with connections all across Europe.