Monte Guglielmo Hike

Overview ~ Plants ~ Photos

Top left: Walking down the wester side of Monte Guglielmo.
Top right: Confronting the world from Monte Guglielmo. Lago Iseo to the right.

Bottom left: View from ridge on Monte Guglielmo toward Lago Iseo.

Bottom right: View of Monumento al Redentore on Monte Guglielmo.

Overview

Duration: ~ 4 hours walking time (plus hour for eating and seeing the Monumento al Redentore)
Elevation: 1310 m (4300 ft) gain. Lowest point at Zone 711 m and highest point at the monument at 1948 m.
Length: 16 km (roundtrip, longer because we took a different route back)
Location: Italy, Brescia, Zone


We can see Monte Guglielmo from our apartment. The shape of the mountains is clearly visible, the transmission tower and the Monumento al Redentore are visible on clear days with the naked eye. To satisfy our curiosity and see this mountain up close, we set off for a hike. Of course, there must be an option for lunch and there was at Rifugio Almici.

We started in Zone and walked up following trail 227 and 227A at the start. Clearly, it’s not the most popular way up. After 2+ hours of slogging and seeing very few people, we arrived at Rifugio Almici and walked in to find it packed. Where did all these people come from? Obviously, some other way, likely from the other side (from Pezzoro-tavernole). The Rifugio Almici site lists different way to reach it.

After 4000+ ft of slogging, we were ready for lunch. Inside the rifugio, expect to sit wherever they can squeeze you in. We sat facing a couple from Brescia and began a conversation. It’s always awkward at first but fun in the end. Actually, what happened was that we stumbled in, a bit discombobulated, taken aback by all the people, and speaking a sort of English-Italian mix so that we commanded the full attention of the room for a few minutes until seated. Sometime, we just have to play the token Americans.

Another curious thing about Rifugio Almici is that they had a tripe soup on the menu. It was very delicious, but odd to see on a rifugio menu. At least, we’ve never had tripe soup in a rifugio before and we’ve been to hundreds. Maybe, we need to get out more?

On the top of Monte Guglielmo, you’ll reach about 1950m. That doesn’t seem particularly high, but the view is stunning. 360 degrees. To the south, the Po Valley (Pianura Padana), and on a clear day like we had, the Appenine Mountains are visible. To the north, the Southeastern Alps, including:

• Southern Rhaetian Alps (28 in the SOIUSA classification)
• Bergamasque Alps and Prealps (29)
• Brescia and Garda Prealps (30)

One of the benefits of starting in Zone is that you could visit two local attractions. The first is the Riserva Regionale delle Piramidi di Erosione di Zone, which are pyramids of earth (more like mushrooms) made from moraine deposits. The second attraction is Boschi degli gnomi (Gnome Forest), a trail with fantastical creatures and people carved in wood. In fact, we parked at the entrance to the forest (small dirt parking lot) and walked up part of the trail through the forest before jumping on a more direct route to the top.

Plants

[Apiaceae] Angelica sylvestris

 

[Apiaceae] Astrantia major

[Asteraceae] Arctium

 

[Asteraceae] Eupatorium cannabinum

 
[Asteraceae] Podospermum purpureum

[Caryophyllaceae] Dianthus carthusianorum

 

[Caryophyllaceae] Dianthus superbus

 

[Gentianaceae] Gentiana cruciata

 

[Primulaceae] Cyclamen purpurascens

 
[Ranunculaceae] Aconitum napellus

 
[Rubiaceae] Galium verum

Photos

Left: Hike track summary for Monte Guglielmo.
Center left: The start of the trial through Boschi degli gnomi.
Center right and right: Gnomes in the Boschi degli gnomi, Zone (Italy).

Gnomes in the Boschi degli gnomi, Zone (Italy).


Views from Monte Guglielmo, with Lago Iseo and views northwest.





Left: A sign explaining Monte Guglielmo facts.

Center: A small pond on Monte Guglielmo

Right: View walking up to Rifugio Almici on Monte Guglielmo, Brescia, Italy.


Monumento al Redentore on Monte Guglielmo, Brescia Italy. Entrance, mosaic above entrance, and detail of door.

Left and center left: A view of Monumento al Redentore on Monte Guglielmo.

Center right: Pope Paul VI statue near the Monumento al Redentore on Monte Guglielmo.

Right: Transmission tower on Monte Guglielmo.