Bocchetto Sessera or Bocchetto di Sessera is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

(el. 1,373 m) across the

Alpi Biellesi The Biellese Alps (''Alpi Biellesi'' or ''Prealpi Biellesi'' in Italian) are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located between Piemonte and Aosta Valley (Italy). Etymology ''Alpi Biellesi'' literally means ''Alps of Biellese''; ''Biellese'' is th ...

. It connects Strona di Mosso Valley and Valsessera, both in the

province of Biella The province of Biella (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''provincia ëd Biela'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 and its capital is the city of Biella. Culture Biella is home to th ...

(

Piemonte Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Pied ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) .

Etymology

In the local

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

''bochet'' means ''

'', while ''

Sessera The Sessera () is a long Torrent (stream), torrent in the Piedmont region - NW Italy. Geography The Sessera starts in the Biellese Alps on the south-eastern slopes of Monte Bo. It initially flows from NW to SE and then encircles the Cima del ...

'' is the name of the river which flows in the

Sessera Valley Sessera Valley (in Italian ''Valle Sessera'') is a valley in north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Biella, Italy. Etymology The valley takes its name from the river Sessera, a right-hand tributary of the Sesia which flows through the valley. ...

Geography

The pass is located between

Monticchio Monticchio is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') belonging to the municipalities of Rionero in Vulture and Atella, in the Province of Potenza, Basilicata. The village is divided into three zones: Monticchio Laghi (part of Atella), Monticchio Bagni a ...

(1,697 m, W) and monte Marca (1,558 m, E). It belongs to 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 the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of Cervo and

Access

Bocchetto di Sassera can be accessed by car from

Campiglia Cervo Campiglia Cervo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 176 and an area of .All demog ...

or from

Trivero Trivero (Piedmontese: ''Tarvè'') was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northeast of Biella. Physical geography Trivero bordered the following munic ...

by the former national road ''Strada statale 232 Panoramica Zegna''.Now ''Strada Provinciale 232 Panoramica Zegna'' (''strada provinciale'' = provincial road). From the pass start some forestry roads which deserve the middle section of

. Some of these dirt roads by winter are used as

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

paths.

Maps

* Italian official cartography (''

Istituto Geografico Militare The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy.

'' - IGM); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it
* Provincia di Biella cartography: ''Carta dei sentieri della Provincia di Biella'', 1:25.00 scale, 2004; on line version:
webgis.provincia.biella.it

References

{{Commons-inline, Bocchetto di Sessera Biellese Alps Mountain passes of Piedmont Mountain passes of the Alps