Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

in Switzerland. It connects the

Magadino Plain Magadino is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 April 2010, the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio a ...

and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the cities of Bellinzona and

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

. Despite its name (''monte'' is the Italian word for "mountain"), Monte Ceneri is the lowest point on the crest between Monte Tamaro and the Camoghè. Two tunnels have been dug under Monte Ceneri, the Monte Ceneri Road Tunnel for the

A2 motorway This is a list of roads designated A2. Roads entries are sorted alphabetically by country. * A2 motorway (Albania), a road connecting Vlore with Fier * A002 road (Argentina), a road connecting Avenida General Paz and Ministro Pistarini Internat ...

and the Monte Ceneri Rail Tunnel for the Gotthard railway. A new rail tunnel, the Ceneri Base Tunnel, was opened in 2020, and connects Camorino near Bellinzona and Vezia near Lugano. The pass is situated in the recently created municipality of Monteceneri and the district of Lugano. The Monte Ceneri radio transmitter is located close to the pass. The larger part of Ticino, which lies to the north of Monte Ceneri and includes the valley of the Ticino river and the cities of Bellinzona and Locarno, is often referred to as the

Sopraceneri The Sopraceneri (''above the Ceneri'', lombard: ''Surascender'') is the part of the Swiss canton of Ticino that lies to the north of the Monte Ceneri Pass through the Lugano Prealps. It includes the whole of the valley of the Ticino river and it ...

(''above the Ceneri''). The smaller part to the south, which includes

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; lmo, label= Ticinese, Mendris ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (USI ...

and

Chiasso Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while o ...

, takes the name Sottoceneri (''under the Ceneri'').

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* Mountain passes of Ticino Mountain passes of the Alps Rail mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of Switzerland {{Ticino-geo-stub

See also

References

External links