17.4
PDI
12.8 mi
DISTANCE
3,560 ft
GAINED
4.7 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
INTRO
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
We've partnered with Sherpa-Map.com to bring you the best route planning tool. With a PRO Membership you can use this climb as a reference when creating your route. Fossato Jonico (Fossatello) is 20.6 km (12.8 mi) long and climbs 1085 m (3560 ft) from 34 m (111 ft) at the coast to 992 m (3253 ft), an average of 4.7%. Several short descents along the way add up to about 127 m (417 ft).
The first 3 km rise at about 5%, and then km 4 to 14 (mi 2.5-8.7) are gentle, mostly between 1% and 5%, broken by a 7.8% kilometer at km 12. Kilometers 13 and 14, around Fossatello, are nearly flat.
From km 15 (mi 9.3), at Fossato Ionico, it's a different climb: km 15 to 18 go 6.8%, 9.2%, 6.2% and 10.4%, followed by 4.7% and 6.1%, and the final 575 m rise at 8.9% to the finish. The steepest 500 m averages 10.8%, the steepest kilometer 10.2%, the steepest 2 km 9.9% and the steepest 5 km 7.7%, and short pitches reach 17.1% over 100 yards.
Roadway: Paved throughout. The climb leaves the SS106 and follows the SP22 Sant'Elia - Fossato inland through Masella, Montebello Jonico and Fossatello, then narrower village roads through Fossato Ionico and Calamaci to the top. Take the bends above Fossato with care - these are village streets and blind corners, not a built-up pass road.
Traffic: The SS106 at the start is the main road along the Ionian coast and can be busy, so the first few hundred meters are the least pleasant of the ride. Once you turn inland traffic is light, mostly local, and lighter again above Fossato.
Parking: Saline Joniche, on the coast at the start, is the easy place to park, and the Ionian coastal railway from Reggio Calabria stops at Saline if you'd rather arrive by train. To skip the gentle lower half, park in Montebello Jonico at about km 10 and start from there.
Provisions: Fill bottles on the coast before you start, and carry two in summer - most of the climb is exposed, and the low-altitude half can be very hot. Above Fossato it's houses and fields, with nowhere to count on for supplies.
Gear: The lower two-thirds go fine on any gearing, but something like a 34 x 30 helps on the 9-10% kilometers above Fossato. The finish is close to 1000 m above the sea, so pack an extra top for the run back down to the coast outside high summer.
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
Right at the start, the Pantano of Saline Joniche - a small coastal wetland next to the old salt pans - is a nature reserve and a decent place to see birds after the ride. A few kilometers east along the coast, Pentedattilo, the half-abandoned village under a rock spire shaped like a five-fingered hand, is the detour everyone in this corner of Calabria will point you to.
Reggio Calabria, about 25 km up the coast, is the practical base, with the Riace Bronzes in the National Archaeological Museum; our Reggio Calabria page covers the city's own climb. For more riding nearby, Mosorrofa climbs into the Aspromonte from behind Reggio, and the Area Grecanica climbs to Gallicianò and Bova start a little further east along the Ionian coast.
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