The Monte Capio 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 one of the highest peaks 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 ...

Geography

The mountain 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 the valleys 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 the Mastallone (the latter a side valley of

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 main ridge goes on southwards with ''Passo dei Rossi'' (2,056 m), a mountain pass dividing Monte Capio from the neighbouring Cima dei Rossi (2,134 m), while northwards the chain continues with ''Bocchetta di Rimella'' (1,924 m) and then with the

Altemberg The Altemberg is a mountain in the Pennine Alps of north-western Italy; with an elevation of is the highest peak of the Alpi Cusiane. Toponymy The name of the mountain is connected to the Walser German, a language spoken by people who settle ...

. Administratively the summit of Monte Capio is the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

where the borders of 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 ...

( VC),

Cravagliana Cravagliana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli. Cravagliana borders the following municipalities: Balmuccia, Cervatto, F ...

( VC) 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 ...

( VB) meet. Close to the main elevation of the mountain stands a subsummit with a small

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 ...

and a metal bell. A sharp saddle connecting it with the actual summit is equipped with a metal cable, in order to facilitate the passage. A

trigpoint A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

of the

IGM Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is one of several isotypes of antibody (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the largest antibody, and it is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antige ...

marks the main summit, where also stands a metal box with a

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...

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

History

Alpe Laghetto miniera nichel sfondo Monte Capio Passo e Corno dei Rossi

On the eastern slopes of the mountain worked in the past a

nikel Nikel (russian: Ни́кель, lit. ''nickel''; fi, Nikkeli; Norwegian: ''Nikkel'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of Lake K ...

mine, whose remains are still recognisable. In 2017 the local authorities autorised new mining prospectings aiming to search for presence of nickel,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

minerals.

Access to the summit

Monte Capio - segnale trigonometrico IGM

The summit of the Capio can be accessed starting from ''Campello Monti'' (a former autonomous

now belonging to

), or following a longer foothpath from

Sabbia Sabbia, Sabine is a ''frazione'' of Varallo in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 78 and an area of .All demograph ...

, in

. The Monte Capio is quite a well known hiking destination because

Nature conservation

The slopes of Monte Capio facing

are 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capio, monte Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Piedmont Pennine Alps Two-thousanders of Italy