The original idea for this trail originated in 1983 within a group of ambitious hikers. With the help of the Italian Alpine Club, the trail became a reality in 1995 in the first ever CamminaItalia ("Walk Italy"), an event in which a group of trekkers departed from a Sardinian coastal village and covered the entire trail in eight months. The accomplishment was repeated in 1999; this time with the collaboration of the Italian National Alpine Association.
Since this time, the evolution of this project has slowed. While the trail blaze was chosen for the trail - a marking of red-white-red with "SI" written underneath in black - many legs of the trail remain un-marked and are only a part of the GIT on the map.
Track
The official track is constantly verified and updated at the official site of the Grand Italian Trail.
Each leg is described by a brief summary and completed with a GPS Track easy to download.
Besides the historic track, new variants are present, so hikers can adapt their journey and touch other parts of the country. For example, a different starting point of the GIT is set in the heart of Puglia and joins the classic route in the region of Molise. In central Italy a variant enters in the region of Lazio. Other variants can be found also in the norden part of the trail, where a separate path reaches Courmayeur in the region of Valle d'Aosta.
However, the original track begins in northern Sardinia and ends in Friuli Venezia Giulia, at a memorial stone in Lazzaretto (near Trieste).
