Rocciamelone (, or ''Roche Melon'') is a 3,538 m high

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in Piedmont, Italy, near the border between

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 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Rocciamelone is located between Val di Susa and Maurienne, 50 km west of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. Its summit is the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

where the

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

s of Usseglio, Novalesa and Mompantero meet. The international border crosses the ''Glacier de Rochemelon'' 1 kilometer north of the summit, making it appear that the border is not following the watershed precisely in this sector. However, the glacier is draped over a ridge that is the true watershed and is precisely followed by the borderline.

SOIUSA classification

According to the SOIUSA (''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') the mountain can be classified in the following way: * main part = Western Alps * major sector = North Western Alps * section =

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (Latin language, Latin:: ''Alpes Graiæ'' ; ; ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps, and the name of an Roman province, Antic Rome province. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celts, Celt ...

* subsection = Southern Graian Alps * supergroup = catena Rocciamelone-Charbonnel * group = gruppo del Rocciamelone * subgroup = nodo del Rocciamelone *

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

= I/B-7.I-A.2.a

History

The teutonic knight Bonifacius Rotarius (of

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

) made the

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of Rocciamelone on 1 September 1358, to bring a small metal image of the Holy Virgin as a gesture of gratitude for having survived captivity in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

during a war against the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The summit of Rocciamelone is the destination of a traditional pilgrimage, every year, on August 5. A statue of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

was erected there in 1899.

Access to the summit

Because of its easy access (the start of the summit trail can be reached in a 90-minute drive from

), its considerable height and the panorama, this mountain is one of the most frequented of the western part of the Alps.

Mountain huts

* Rifugio Cà d'Asti (2,854 m - Mompantero) * Rifugio Ernesto Tazzetti (2,642 - Usseglio) * Rifugio Santa Maria (close to the summit)

Notes

Maps

* Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM) official maps of Italy, 1:25.000 and 1:100.000 scale
on-line version
* Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC) - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 2 ''Valli di Lanzo e Moncenisio'' * Istituto Geografico Centrale - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:25.000 n.110 ''Alte Valli di Lanzo (Rocciamelone - Uja di Ciamarella - Le Levanne)''

External links

Rocciamelone

{{Authority control Mountains of Piedmont Mountains of the Graian Alps Alpine three-thousanders Three-thousanders of Italy Metropolitan City of Turin