Foscagno Pass (, ) (el. 2291 m.) is a high

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 ...

in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

in the

province of Sondrio The province of Sondrio (), also known as Valtellina (the major valley of the province) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2024, it has a population of 179,165. History The prov ...

, northern

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 ...

. The road (SS 301) connects

Bormio Bormio (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellina valley, it is a popular winter sports resort. It was the ...

in the east and

Livigno Livigno (; local ; ) is a town, ''comune'' and a special-administered territory in the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy, located in the Italian Alps, near the Swiss border. History Livigno's first settlers were probably sh ...

in the west. It is the only link between Livigno and the rest of Italy, and is usually open all year round. This route also includes the subsidiary Eira Pass () (2209 m) which lies between the Foscagno Pass and Livigno itself. Here lies the village of

Trepalle Trepalle is a village (the highest in Italy) in the Italian Alps, a ''frazione'' of Livigno, Lombardy. It is sometimes considered to be the village located at the highest altitude in Europe and is the highest in the European Union with its churc ...

, part of

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, and one of Europe's highest inhabited parishes. Although both sides of the pass are in the same country, Italy, you are required to pass through

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

at the top. This is due to the duty-free status of Livigno. The pass is located on the main

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. Water on the north side of the pass flows down into the

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, whereas water on the south side flows down into the Adda and Po.

References

Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Italy Italy–Switzerland border {{Lombardy-geo-stub

See also

References