The Altemberg is a mountain in the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ...

of north-western

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

; with an elevation of is the highest peak of the

Alpi Cusiane The Alpi Cusiane (or ''Prealpi Cusiane'') are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located in Piemonte (Italy). Etymology ''Alpi Cusiane'' literally means ''Alps of Cusio''; ''Cusio'' is the geographical and historical area surrounding Lake of Orta ...

Toponymy

Altemberg croce di vetta sfondo Cima Lago Capezzone Ronda

The name of the mountain is connected to the

Walser German Walser German (german: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (, locally ) are a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein ( Triesenberg, Planken), ...

, a language spoken by people who settled into the upper valley of the

Strona Strona is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northeast of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,217 and an area of .All demographic ...

and

Sesia The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po. Geography Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia ...

centuries ago. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''Alten'' means ''old'' while ''Berg'' means ''hill'' or ''mountain'', so the English meaning of the name could be ''old mountain'' (''vecchia montagna'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Geography

The Altemberg is located on the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

between

and

valleys, South of the ''Bocchetta Stretta'' pass, which divides it from the neighbouring Cima Lago. Towards SE the ridge goes on with a saddle named ''Bocchetta delle Vacche'' and the Cima del Pizzo (2,233 m). Administratively the mountain belongs to both the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

s of

Rimella Rimella ( Walser German: ''Remmalju'', Piedmontese: ''Rimela'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli. Rimella borders ...

(West of the summit) and

Valstrona Valstrona is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Verbania. Valstrona borders the following municipalities: Anzola d'Os ...

.''Carta Tecnica Regionale'' raster 1:10.000 (vers.3.0), Regione Piemonte, year 2007 On its summit stands a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

lic

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

SOIUSA classification

According to the

SOIUSA Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a proposal for a new classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was desig ...

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') the mountain can be classified in the following way: * main part =

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ...

* major sector = North Western Alps * section =

* subsection = Southern Valsesia Alps * supergroup =

* group = Costiera Capio-Massa del Turlo * code = I/B-9.IV-B.3

Access to the summit

The Altemberg can be accessed following a foothpath from ''

Campello Monti Valstrona is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Verbania. Valstrona borders the following municipalities: Anzola d'Os ...

'', a village in the

, or from

, in

Valsesia Valsesia ( pms, Valsesia; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol''; it, Valle della Sesia) is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Repub ...

. The ridge between connecting the Altemberg with Cima Lago needs some

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

skill to be crossed and is rated as '' PD grade''

Nature conservation

Cima Altemberg is part of the

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

of Alta Val Sesia e dell'Alta Val Strona.

References

External links

{{Portal, Italy, Mountains Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Piedmont Pennine Alps Two-thousanders of Italy