Monte Viso

Template:Short description Template:Infobox mountain Monte VisoTemplate:Efn or Monviso (; Template:Langx ; Template:Langx or simply ) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peaks by about 500 m, it can be seen from a great distance, including from the Piedmontese plateau, the Langhe, the Theodulpass in the Zermatt ski area, the Col du Galibier and the summits of the Mont Blanc massif. On a very clear day, it can be seen from the spires of Milan Cathedral.

It has been suggested that Monte Viso could be one of the mountains which inspired the Paramount logo, even though the company has denied the claims. In Italy it is also known as ("the Stone King") because of its prominence within the western Italian Alps. It was declared a cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2013. The longest river of Italy, River Po, is born at the mountain's foot.

Geography

On the northern slopes of Monte Viso are the headwaters of the Po, the longest Italian river, the so-called Pian del Re (2,020 m). The Monviso group is surrounded by the Valle Po, Valle Varaita and, on the French side, the Guil valley. The northern sector of the group, from the Punta Gastaldi to the Col de la Traversette, is located on the French border.

File:Monviso seen from Saluzzo 11-12-2021.jpg

Monte Viso as seen from outside Saluzzo

SOIUSA classification

According to the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way:

• main part = Western Alps
• major sector = South Western Alps
• section = Cottian Alps
• subsection = southern Cottian Alps
• supergroup = catena Aiguillette-Monviso-Granero
• group = gruppo del Monviso isa
• subgroup = nodo del Monviso
• code = I/A-4.I-C.8.a

File:Monviso - panoramica cresta da Ostanetta.jpg

Panoramic view of Monviso with the main peaks

History

Monte Viso is the location of a Neolithic jadeite quarry, at an elevation of 2,000 to 2,400 metres. Its productivity peaked around 5000 BC. The jadeite was used to make cult axes, which are found all over western Europe. One such ceremonial axe head was found as far away as a small hill called Tristia in Western Ireland and is on display in the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Dublin.

In ancient times the mountain was known as Vesulus.

Monte Viso was climbed for the first time on August 30, 1861 by William Mathews, Frederick Jacomb, Jean-Baptiste Croz and Michel Croz. The first woman to summit the mountain was Alessandra Boarelli (1838–1908) on 16 August 1864.

Monte Viso in literature

File:Monviso from Lessinia at sunset.JPG

Sunset view of Monviso from San Giorgio della Lessinia (VR), over 300km away.

Monte Viso is mentioned by various authors, Italian and non-, including Dante, Petrarch, and Chaucer. Dante mentions the mountain in a long simile in Canto XVI of the Inferno as the source of the Montone River:

Chaucer cites the mountain in the prologue to the Clerk's Tale in his Canterbury Tales, in a passage adapted from Petrarch's Latin version of his "Tale of Griselda":

(Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Clerk's Tale," from The Canterbury Tales)

See also

• List of Alpine peaks by prominence
• List of mountains of the Alps above 3000 m
• Monte Viso tunnel

External links

• Monte Viso on SummitPost