Lumignano: A Century-Old Limestone Crag South of Vicenza, Open by Sector and Season | Italy Climbing Crags

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Lumignano is a village in the comune of Longare, in the province of Vicenza in the Veneto, at the eastern foot of the Colli Berici (Berici Hills). Above the village runs a long band of limestone streaked red, orange and grey. Planetmountain calls it "one of the most important crags in Northern Italy", and says that in the 1980s, as modern sport climbing began, Lumignano Classica was "the focal point for many of the best climbers in the world".

This post covers the decisions to make before going: whether it suits you, which months, how to get there, which sectors are open in which months, and which routes you currently cannot climb.

What kind of crag is it

Rock and style. Limestone, mostly single-pitch sport, with some two- and three-pitch routes. Planetmountain on Classica: "highly technical and demanding, and the routes tend to be bouldery and undergraded". The overhanging section is "athletic on painful pockets", while the vertical walls demand excellent footwork. Mountain Project describes "many overhung tufas, cave climbs, and boulders", with 10 quickdraws enough for most routes.

Stiff grades. Local climbers interviewed in 2023 said many people find Classica's grades harsher than elsewhere, because they reflect the era each route was first freed. Pancia Casarotto is graded 6b, but "di solito è bene aggiungere almeno mezzo grado" — you usually add at least half a grade (avevolevertigini).

History. Severino Casara opened the first route, the corner-crack Sbrega, in 1924 (Planetmountain). Renato Casarotto in the 1970s and Heinz Mariacher in the early 1980s left important lines, and later Martin Scheel, Manolo and others pushed grades to 8b (Planetmountain; a retrospective by CAI Vicenza member Augusto Angriman).

Size. The sources count different areas (checked 2026-10-18):

Among theCrag's 13 sectors, the largest are Classica (184 routes), Sopra La Chiesa (85), Minetti (76), Brojon (73), and Sotto l Eremo and Lumignano Nuova (62 each).

Sector character. Planetmountain's Brojon page: Brojon classico is less steep, has many easy routes and faces south-west; Strapiombi is "short, powerful and intense on large holds"; Pilastro is longer and vertical. falesia.it says most of Lumignano Nuova is in the 6th grade.

When to go

The rules also set the season. Some sectors are only open in certain months (see the rules below). Lumignano Nuova, for example, is open only July–December, so a spring trip means sticking to the sectors open all year.

Getting there

Public transport

SVT (Società Vicentina Trasporti) line 8 terminates at Piazza Mazzaretto in Lumignano (SVT notice, 12 June 2023). Lines 8 and E04 both run between the SVT bus station / Viale Roma and Ponte di Lumignano (SVT notice, 28 July 2023). During village festivals (such as the October 2025 truffle festival) line 8 uses Via Ponte di Costozza as a temporary terminus (SVT notice, 9 October 2025), so check SVT's notices and timetables before you go.

Driving

Planetmountain's directions: from Vicenza take the SS247 (signposted Este) along the Colli Berici, and turn right for Costozza and Lumignano immediately after Longare; the crags come into view after Costozza. For Classica, drive past the church and up the narrow road to its end. For Brojon, park before the church, walk up the steps and follow the path towards the Eremo (hermitage); don't turn left up to the hermitage, keep right, cross the stream and go uphill. Alternatively, park on the main road and walk up Via Brojo straight to the Strapiombi sector.

Parking

• theCrag: "Parking for ten cars", with drinking water and a rubbish bin; about 15 minutes' walk to Classica.
• Planetmountain: for Classica, park near the large boulder or in the signposted car park 300 m lower down.
• Mountain Project (2009) / falesia.it: the car park at the end of Via Borgo.

Rules to know before you go

The Colli Berici climbing regulation. The Berici Hills are an EU Site of Community Importance (SIC). The regulation approved by the Province of Vicenza in 2014 largely follows Longare's 2004 rules and divides the Lumignano walls into four zones (Vicenza Report article, reprinted on GognaBlog):

Across the Colli Berici, no new routes may be bolted without authorisation and an environmental impact assessment. The protected birds named include peregrine falcon, kestrel, raven and crag martin, which may abandon or skip nesting if disturbed during breeding. Planetmountain's 2014 report covered the draft, which put Brojon Classico and Strapiombi in the July–December zone and gave fines of €25–500 (Planetmountain). Angriman's retrospective (published in a CAI magazine in 2022, reposted in 2024) says the SIC dispute ended with Longare's existing regulation largely recognised, and that it is "ancora vigente" — still in force. The 2023 Idea Montagna guidebook also gives each sector's seasonal access rules. Signs on site take precedence.

Classica and its landowners. Classica is on private land. Since 1992 CAI Vicenza has held a contract with the landowner, paying an annual fee and maintaining the routes (Angriman). A 2023 report says one former owner, fed up with climbers' behaviour, planned to bar the central section and sell; three local climbers bought the land, aiming to run it as a community-maintained crag (avevolevertigini). theCrag's Classica page now reads "Climbing in this area is closed", and says "In October 2024 theCrag was contacted by the landowners with the request to close the area for climbing". Planetmountain's crag page still describes Classica as normal. Confirm Classica's status before you go.

Routes banned for rockfall. CAI Vicenza reports that a geological survey found rockfall risk, and, by agreement with the Comune di Longare, climbing is banned by order until the rock is secured: 21 routes on the south side and 32 on the west side of the Dente di Lumignano (left of Classica). Signs are posted at the base, and the first bolt hangers are being removed. Sectors affected:

• Minetti lower left and Minetti upper left
• Anfiteatro left (La carica dei 740, 30 m per morire)
• Sopra la Chiesa – Riga rossa
• Dente di Lumignano west side: La Spiaggia (12 routes), Caucciù (7), Mostro Fornaio (6), Placca Campi (7)

The path below the band between Sopra la Chiesa long routes and Riga rossa has separate rockfall signs; don't linger there.

Routes by level

YDS and V-grade conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+). The original grade is the one that counts.

The tables name the sector because access depends on it: theCrag marks Classica closed since October 2024; Brojon Classico is open all year under the 2014 rules; the 53 routes on CAI Vicenza's rockfall ban list are left out.

Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)

Planetmountain's Brojon page says "'Brojon classico' has many easy routes and faces SW".

The local climbers interviewed in 2023 recommended Classica's Maruska and Scacciapuffi sectors (grade V), the "alpinistico" Fessura Rossi, and the new sector on the right with "tiri ben chiodati fino al 6a/6a+" — well-bolted pitches up to 6a/6a+ (avevolevertigini). All of these are in Classica, which is currently closed.

Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)

Of the 34 Brojon Classico routes Planetmountain lists, 22 are 6a–6c; routes on Brojon's Pilastro sector are "much longer and vertical" (Planetmountain). falesia.it says most of Lumignano Nuova is "sul grado 6" (in the 6th grade), but the 2014 rules open it only from July to December.

Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)

The historic classics at this level are all in Classica, with their redpoint records (Planetmountain's Classica route list). Until Classica reopens, try Brojon's Pilastro and Strapiombi ("short, powerful and intense on large holds"); under the 2014 rules the Piardi part of Strapiombi opens only from July to December.

Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)

Brojon's Strapiombi and the Sotto gli strapiombi roof below it hold most of the 8a-and-up routes (Planetmountain).

Where to look things up

• theCrag Lumignano: routes for all 13 sectors, the parking spot, and which sectors are marked closed.
• CAI Vicenza banned-routes notice: the full list of rockfall-banned routes with photos.
• Planetmountain Classica / Brojon: route lists, access and parking.
• Guidebooks: route grades and route counts in this article come mainly from online databases such as theCrag and Mountain Project; where they disagree, go with the guidebook.
  • LUMIGNANO – Climbing in the Berici Hills (Michele Guerrini, Idea Montagna, 2023, Italian, English and German, 288 pages, ISBN 979-12-80483-23-2): the current complete guide, with each sector's seasonal rules and recent new routes; in stock at Oliunìd.
  • Falesia di Lumignano (Diego and Martina Campi, Edizioni DBS, 2014, Italian, 87 pages): a beginner selection of about 200 routes up to 6a+; sold out at EpicTV and in practice replaced by the 2023 book.
• SVT: route-change notices for lines 8 and E04.

References

• Planetmountain: Lumignano Classica
• Planetmountain: Lumignano Brojon
• Planetmountain: Lumignano and the climbing in the Berici hills at risk
• theCrag: Lumignano
• theCrag: Classica
• CAI Sezione di Vicenza: Falesia di Lumignano, itinerari interdetti all'arrampicata
• GognaBlog: Nuovo regolamento per l'arrampicata sui Bérici
• avevolevertigini: Lumignano Classica, questioni in sospeso?
• avevolevertigini: Lumignano Classica, la storia dell'arrampicata, il futuro dell'ecosostenibilità
• Mountain Project: Lumignano
• falesia.it: Lumignano Nuova
• Oliunìd: Idea Montagna Lumignano climbing guide
• EpicTV: Edizioni DBS Falesia di Lumignano climbing guide
• SVT: Linea 8 a Lumignano
• SVT: Linee 8 ed E04 tra Vicenza e Lumignano
• SVT: Sagra del Tartufo a Lumignano
• Colli Berici: Sport
• Idea Montagna: LUMIGNANO (2023)