Monte Centaurino-Pizzuto-Rupe di San Paolo and Scanno delle Nocelle descent

Premise

This route was traveled on January 6, 2025, and all subsequent observations and considerations fully apply only to that day.

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Ascent to Monte Centaurino from Rofrano

The final 100-120 meters of elevation gain to Monte Centaurino are covered at the base by a comfortable section of forest road, which can be reached almost exclusively by small roads or almost exclusively by trails of varying visibility.

We chose a mix (already tried before) starting with more silvo-pastoral paths serving old activities, and more trails in the upper second part.

From the parking lot at the five-a-side soccer field on Via Marconi, the first 100 meters of SP 93 are covered, then turn left onto a paved walkway that continues to a group of houses with... many small dogs barking loudly but keeping their distance (however, we had to leash our four-legged child 🐕 because she got confused).

Inside the group of houses, we turned right and continued through changes of small roads, mule tracks, and trails as we already knew them.

In this first part, just above 700 meters altitude, you reach below a chestnut grove where it is advisable to jump to a parallel track a couple of meters higher, because the arrival path runs into a thicket of brambles.

Then continue on wider paths certainly still in use for work activities, and we noticed a new wooden feeding trough with "licking salt" frequented by cows.

Continue noting various water collection works up to about 970-980 meters altitude, where at a left hairpin bend of the small road, a trail branches off to the right, also indicated on IGM maps.

Arriving at the trailhead from the small road, two tiny red arrows painted on stones on the ground are visible.

A close series of red marks on tree trunks begins immediately, but these red marks seem to continue in all directions at every branching of the trails on the ground.

In this situation, we kept a general line matching the black dashed line of the IGM map (which is the same as the Cilento Park map).

Following this logic, you reach the insertion into a section of road where, to our surprise, we also spotted a couple of CAI trail markers.

There is almost immediately a fork where we went right slightly downhill to cross a stream with a decent flow running under the area indicated on IGM maps as "COSTA S. MARIA".

Cross the stream and continue on the right side, the uphill direction or left hydrographic bank toward the southeast to intersect the aforementioned forest road that surrounds about 100-120 meters lower the summit of Monte Centaurino.

At the end, this path beside the stream crosses a very visible track and here, for the last stretch, we cut off a few dozen meters off-trail to shorten the long and wide zigzags of the route.

Having found the target forest road, we continued to the right until reaching a near hairpin at the base of the north-west ridge of Monte Centaurino, which is the easiest to ascend.

From here, we used various tracks probably made by wild boars and reached the summit point completely wooded, with only a small clearing where the Sun filters through. 🌞

On a stone on the ground, the inscription "S.M.19.04.20" is carved.

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From Monte Centaurino to the beginning of the final descent passing through Pizzuto and Rupe di San Paolo

From the summit of Monte Centaurino, continue south downhill along the wide wooded ridge: here the forest is sparse and it is easy to bypass the few groups of dense shrubs.

After 600-700 meters of walking (always depending on the lines followed on the wide ridge), you pass under the low elevation of Pizzuto.

Pizzuto is indicated with a separate toponym on maps and is completely covered by a very dense grove at the end.

We climbed just to "touch the geographic point" even though it adds almost nothing to the evaluation of the hike.

Continuing beyond from below Pizzuto, after about 250-300 meters, to go more directly to Rupe di San Paolo, one should keep almost the same direction in the area indicated as "LAZZARI" on IGM maps.

Here, however, we preferred to deviate first almost to the start of the descent to Scanno delle Nocelle to know where to head afterward without hesitation.

So, we probably walked about 200 meters more of easy passage round-trip and also went to the low elevation of Rupe di San Paolo.

This summit point is also wooded and offers only a small window of view toward the Gulf of Policastro.

As in much of the southern ridge of Monte Centaurino, we noticed several dry stone walls and others indicating past work activities.

From Rupe di San Paolo, we returned to the small hillock at the start of the descent for the Scanno delle Nocelle ridge.

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Descent along the Scanno delle Nocelle ridge

According to slope maps, this ridge is almost entirely below 30 degrees with only a short section at the bottom between 30 and 35.

However, slope maps are calculated/designed on averages of segments of varying length.

Therefore, an easy section (for example) of 25 degrees may consist of a vertical or almost vertical small drop preceded and followed by a flat section.

Starting from a medium-low slope—if the map is correct—the small drops cannot be too high and bypassing them is almost certainly not too complicated: we reason within the field of probability, not certainty.

The start of the descent is calm and enjoyable until a first drop, which we avoided by following a trail with a double hairpin descending on the right of the ridge.

Climbing back on the ridge spine—to be always kept as a reference to follow—there is a very comfortable section where we encountered some cows, which we did not follow when they moved down on trails along the steep (also very steep) sides of Scanno delle Nocelle.

Bypassing another small drop to the left on somewhat loose trails (it might have been possible to do it also on the right), we reached the longest, highest, and most vertical drop.

This one, after a wide left bend, we bypassed at the end on the right for the most characteristic passage with a walkway between "two rock blades" followed by a couple of ledges where, for the only time, you must place your hands to hold on: almost grade I with very solid holds.

Then still easy until the short section indicated between 30 and 35 degrees in the slope maps.

Here there are no drops and the slope is steep but regular: going slowly, you descend on consolidated ground without problems.

At the end, you reach the crossing of a small road after about 350 meters of total downhill elevation.

There remain about 2 km on natural ground to the location Provitera and about 1 km on asphalt to the parking lot.

All bypassing indications… are indicative: there are certainly other solutions and everything must be evaluated case by case.