Italian Mountain terms

If you want to spend some time in Italy you’ve really a vast choice of options to choose from.

Yes, because Italy can offer many different landscapes. You can choose to spend some time in some of the biggest Italian cities like Rome, Florence, Milan or in beautiful small Italian villages like Cividale, Bard, Colfosco, etc.

In alternative, you can spend some time in the mountains, at the seaside or even in the hills.

In this article, today I’ll focus on Italian mountains and on the most used Italian mountain terms.

ITALY AND THE MOUNTAINS

In Italy there are mountains in every region. However, the highest Italian mountains are in Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, where mountains can be more than 4000 meters high.

One of the most famous Italian destinations for mountain holidays, instead, is Trentino-Alto Adige, where the highest mountain is “only” 3.902 meters high.

If you want to spend some time in the mountains in Italy you can choose different types of accomodations: hotels, bad and breakfasts, and you can also rent an apartment or even a lodge – baita in Italian.

Let’s see some of the most common Italian mountain terms you should know if you decide to go for a hike in Italy.

Let’s start from the basics.

One of the essential things you should have is scarponi – hiking boots.

When choosing your boots remember to check if they’re impermeabili and traspirabili – waterproof and breathable – and also if they’ve a good outsole – suola. A good famous Italian brand is, for example, Vibram.

Once you’ve your scarponi, if you really like to hike and are willing to walk a little bit, another essential thing you should bring with you is uno zaino – a backpack.

You can find many different types of zaini, from the smallest ones for really brief walks, to the biggest ones form more demanding walks.

When you choose your zaino remember to check if it has these useful basic features:

Schienale traspirante – Ventilated back panel
Spallacci imbottiti – Padded shoulder straps
Cintura imbottita – Padded waist belt
Porta bastoncini – Trekking pole holder
Parapioggia – Rain cover
Tasche per bottiglie – Water reservoir pockets

Now that you have a good zaino, let’s see some Italian mountain terms related to the objects you should put in your zaino in Summer.

The first thing to always bring with you is una borraccia – a canteen – or una bottiglia d’acqua – a bottle of water. They can be small or big depending on how many kilometers you intend to walk.

Personally, I always bring with me a big bottle of water, you’ll never know.

Another important object to put in your zaino is una buona crema solare – a good sun cream – because up in the mountains the sun is pretty strong.

To protect yourself from the sun, you should also bring with you un cappellino – a cap – or a bandana.

Next things you should add to your zaino is una t-shirt/maglietta extra – an extra t-shirt – una maglia maniche lunghe– a long-sleeved shirt – un k-way – a pocket rain jacket.

If you want, you can also add un pranzo al sacco – a packed lunch – and un coltellino – a pocket-knife – just in case.

Ok. Now you’re ready for your hike.

Remember to follow the right sentiero – path. When in doubt, read i cartelli/segnali – the signs – or search for gli ometti – cairns, small pyramids made of stones.

If you’re still scared by the possibility to lose yourself, then bring with you una mappa – a map – and also una bussola – a compass.

And don’t forget to enjoy nature and have a lot of fun!

Do you like the mountains? Did you already know all these Italian mountain terms?