Monte San Salvatore, the second peak of the Madonie

Monte San Salvatore, 1,912 metres, is the second peak of the Madonie Park (Parco delle Madonie) after the Pizzo Carbonara plateau. You can climb it from three sides: from Piano Noce on the SP119, from the Pomieri area or from Petralia Sottana. For the hike the Park gives about 10 km, 750 metres of climbing and 6 hours of walking without stops. The right season runs from late May to October.

It is a full mountain day, with no technical passages but plenty of uphill.

Why climb San Salvatore

For the view over the south side of the Madonie, the one you cannot see from Piano Battaglia. From the summit you look at the two Petralias, the other Madonie villages, the Nebrodi and, on clear days, Etna.

And because it is the pilgrims’ mountain. Just below the summit stands the Madonna dell’Alto sanctuary, on Monte Alto, which the Park lists among the highest Marian sanctuaries in Italy. It holds a marble statue of the Madonna that the Park attributes to Gagini.

The three routes up

The Park describes three hiking approaches, with paths that are mostly visible but signposting that comes and goes.

From the west, from Piano Noce. On the road between Polizzi Generosa and Portella Colla a dirt track skirts the Vallone Madonna degli Angeli and climbs to Piano Iola, the west summit. A more scenic path crosses the valley and climbs the north side of Monte Scalone. It is the route closest to the Madonie firs.

From the north, from the Pomieri area. A dirt road climbs to Portella di Mele and crosses the beech wood of Punta dell’Inferno to Cozzo del Filatore, then reaches the east summit. This stretch also carries the Park’s red and white waymarks for the Sentiero della Pace.

From the south, from Petralia Sottana. You follow the path that runs from the Ponte di San Brancato, near the hospital, to the Madonna dell’Alto sanctuary. It is the longest route, which we describe on the Sentiero della Pace page.

Download a track before you go: on the ridges the waymarking is not continuous.

Who it is for

The Park grades the climb E, for fit hikers. The difficulties are length and ascent. On the summit, according to the Cefalù Madonie tourist district, you walk on natural ground and easy rocks.

If you have never walked 6 hours in the mountains, start with a shorter hike such as the Abies nebrodensis trail.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the best periods, with mild temperatures and beech woods that change colour in October. In summer people climb happily, but on sirocco days the steep slopes wear you out, the Park warns. Up high the wind is strong even in August.

The sanctuary comes alive for the feast of the Madonna dell’Alto, on the first Sunday of July and on 15 August, according to the Park.

In winter the summit is often snowbound and the climb turns into winter mountaineering. Check the weather at Portella Colla and in Petralia Sottana before you go.

How to get there

For Piano Noce you drive up from Polizzi Generosa on the SP119, closed after a landslide near the Portella Colla junction since February 2026 and, at the time of writing, not reopened: while it stays closed use the routes from Pomieri or Petralia Sottana, and check the Madonie roads page. For the southern route you set off on foot straight from Petralia Sottana.

Where to sleep and eat

Petralia Sottana suits the southern route and Pomieri: see where to stay in Petralia Sottana and where to eat in Petralia Sottana. For the western route the base is Polizzi Generosa, with accommodation in where to stay in Polizzi Generosa.

Safety tips

• Carry water for the whole day. The only reliable fountain mentioned by the sources is the one below the sanctuary.
• Always have a windproof jacket and a warm layer: at almost 2,000 metres the weather changes fast.
• In fog, go back the way you came.
• In autumn the Park publishes “danger zone” notices for wildlife control with firearms, including at Portella Colla: check the news on the Park website before you go.