The Apennine mountains, or Appennini as they are called in Italy, form the backbone of the Italian peninsula. In the northwest of Italy the Apennines touch on the Ligurian Alps. From there the range forms an arc reaching all the way to the island of Sicily in the south. The Apennines are sub-divided into the Northern, Central and Southern Apennines, with a total length of 1200 km. Including Sicily they even add up to 1500 km. The Central Apennines are the highest, culminating in Corno Grande (2912 m), home to the Calderone glacier.

Being such an extensive mountain range, the different parts of the Apennines are named after the provinces they are in, such as the Ligurian Apennines, the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, the Umbrian Apennines, the Umbria-Marche Apennines and the Abruzzi Apennines. In turn these often consist of different chains, massifs and valleys. In general, the eastern slopes toward the Adriatic are the steepest, the western slopes being more gentle.

Clearly the Appennini are good hiking area. There are numerous short and long distance trails set out. European long distance trail E1 runs through the Northern and Central Apennines, and the Sentiero Italia crosses the entire Apennine range.