Osservatorio astronomico di Campo Imperatore

On a very hot July 20, we visited Campo Imperatore, a vast high plateau located in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is part of the Gran Sasso massif, the highest mountain range in the Apennines.  The scenery is stunning, and when we parked our car to go for a hike, we saw the Osservatorio astronomico di Campo Imperatore.  The observatory is located about an hour and a half drive from the town of Castiglione Messer Raimondo, were we stayed for a few days.  The road to the observatory is full of  and mountainous, but the views are stunning.

The plateau is about 20 kilometers long and 7 kilometers wide. It is surrounded by high mountain peaks, including the Corno Grande, the highest mountain in the Apennines. 

The Osservatorio astronomico di Campo Imperatore (Astronomical Observatory of Campo Imperatore) is one of the most important astronomical observatories in Italy. It is located in the Abruzzo region, at an altitude of 2,150 meters above sea level. The observatory is known for its excellent observing conditions, due to its clear skies and low light pollution.  

The main instrument of the observatory is the AZT-24, a telescope with a diameter of 108 cm built for the Pulkovo Observatory and placed on the Gran Sasso in 1997. The telescope is equipped with an infrared camera, making it the only infrared telescope in Italy.

The second telescope is a Schmidt telescope with a diameter of 60 cm, with a CCD camera to take pictures.

As we did not know if we could visit the observatory, we enjoyed the nice building and the domes before starting our hike in the mountains.