Alta Via dei Monti Lattari
The main hiking route linking the Badia of Cava de’ Tirreni to Punta Campanella, in the municipality of Massa Lubrense: a network of trails across the Lattari peaks and passes.
Alta Via dei Lattari1876 — 20262026 EditionIdentity and vision
More than a crossing.
Alta Via dei Lattari 1876 is a hiking and cultural project: it uses travel on foot to connect landscape, history, nature, traditions and communities.
Hiking provides the structure of the journey, but it is not its only content.
The project enriches the hiking experience with educational moments, encounters and activities closely linked to the places along the route. Landforms, flora, fauna, geology, rural work and local memories become keys for reading the Lattari Mountains.
Giustino Fortunato is not evoked as folklore: his example is an invitation to observe these mountains with curiosity, patience and a spirit of enquiry.
The origins · 2019
Four young people,
one shared vision.
AVDL 1876 grew from different skills coming together and the wish to create a multidisciplinary setting around hiking in the Lattari Mountains.
The project draws inspiration from Giustino Fortunato and one of his original writings, which allows us to retrace the network of paths now known as the Alta Via dei Monti Lattari. In 2019 the first edition followed Fortunato’s account, celebrating the landscape and evoking the splendour of nineteenth-century travel through clothing and storytelling.
“Walk to learn”
This phrase still captures the project’s identity: exploring natural, cultural and traditional themes along the way, so that every stage becomes an experience of discovery rather than simply a distance to cover.
An essential distinction
The trail
and the project.
AVDL 1876
The cultural project built along that route: a multi-stage trek interpreting Giustino Fortunato’s journey through education, storytelling, traditions and encounters with the people who live here.
Not simply following a path, but entering into a relationship with the landscape and those who care for it.
The method
Four dimensions,
one experience.
Walking
The continuity of the route, shared effort and the slower rhythm of a long crossing.
Knowledge
Storytelling stops and carefully prepared content reveal what the trail passes through.
Community
Relationships with people, associations and organisations that live in and care for the Lattari Mountains.
Memory
Stories, photographs and materials preserved as a legacy for future editions.
What makes the project unique
A journey on foot
becomes a story.
A nineteenth-century gaze
Since the first edition, cotton, wool and cloth garments and accessories inspired by nineteenth-century travellers have given the crossing an evocative dimension. Not reenactment for its own sake, but a narrative device: an attempt to see the Lattari through the eyes of those who crossed them before modern hiking.
Knowledge in place
Landforms, flora, fauna, geology, traditions and livelihoods are explained where they can still be seen. A stop does not interrupt the walk: it completes it, turning the landscape into an open-air classroom.
The territory speaks
Associations, communities, mountain huts, scholars, craftspeople and local custodians are part of the method. Relationships are built before the event so the story grows from those who live in the mountains.
An open project
Share the method,
grow the legacy.
The founding document defines AVDL 1876 as an “open-source” project, open to contributions that strengthen its identity and quality.
Openness does not mean losing direction. Every proposal must remain connected to the Lattari Mountains, produce knowledge, be sustainable for local communities and leave something reusable. This is how an event becomes shared heritage.
From vision to project
An open idea,
a practical method.
Clear objectives
Every activity begins with a clear purpose: understand the territory, involve its communities and create a useful legacy for the trail.
Defined responsibilities
Tasks, contacts and deadlines keep the open nature of the project manageable and accountable.
Risks and opportunities
Context, strengths, challenges and alternatives inform organisational decisions and protect the quality of the experience.
The 150th anniversary is both a destination and, above all, a new beginning.
The 2026 edition trials a recognisable, repeatable model: a Credential, three stages, coordinated cultural content and a stable local network. The aim is to turn the annual event into a trail that can live and grow over time.
Year Zero will test the route, document stops and content, define responsibilities, consolidate partners and preserve what the experience produces. It does not simply celebrate the past: it builds tools for future editions.
Discover the 2026 edition →