| Monte Viso | |
|---|---|
| Monviso | |
 Monviso seen from the Col de Chamoussiere (FR). | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,841 m (12,602 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,062 m (6,765 ft) Ranked 10th in the Alps |
| Listing | Ultra Alpine mountains above 3000 m |
| Coordinates | 44°40′03″N07°05′30″E / 44.66750°N 7.09167°E /44.66750; 7.09167 |
| Naming | |
| Native name |
|
| Geography | |
  Monte Viso Alps | |
| Location | Piedmont,Italy |
| Parent range | Cottian Alps |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | August 30, 1861 byWilliam Mathews and Frederic Jacomb with guideMichel Croz |
| Easiest route | South Facescramble |
Monte Viso[a] orMonviso (Italian:[moɱˈviːzo];Occitan:Vísol[ˈvizul];Piedmontese:Brich ëd Viso[ˈbrikədˈvizʊ] or simplyViso) is the highest mountain of theCottian Alps, located inPiedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peaks by about 500 m, it can be seen from a great distance, including from the Piedmontese plateau, theLanghe, theTheodulpass in theZermatt ski area, theCol du Galibier and the summits of theMont Blanc massif. On a very clear day, it can be seen from the spires ofMilan Cathedral.[2]
It has been suggested that Monte Viso could be one of the mountains which inspired theParamount logo, even though the company has denied the claims.[3] In Italy it is also known asil Re di Pietra ("the Stone King") because of its prominence within the westernItalian Alps. It was declared a cross-borderUNESCO biosphere reserve in 2013.The longest river of Italy,River Po, is born at the mountain's foot.
On the northern slopes of Monte Viso are theheadwaters of thePo, the longest Italian river, the so-calledPian del Re (2,020 m). The Monviso group is surrounded by theValle Po, ValleVaraita and, on the French side, theGuil valley. The northern sector of the group, from thePunta Gastaldi to theCol de la Traversette, is located on the French border.
According to theSOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way:[4]
Monte Viso is the location of aNeolithicjadeite quarry, at an elevation of 2,000 to 2,400 metres. Its productivity peaked around 5000 BC. The jadeite was used to make cultaxes, which are found all over western Europe. One such ceremonial axe head was found as far away as a small hill called Tristia in WesternIreland and is on display in theNational Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Dublin.
In ancient times the mountain was known as Vesulus.[5]
Monte Viso was climbed for the first time on August 30, 1861 byWilliam Mathews,Frederick Jacomb,Jean-Baptiste Croz andMichel Croz. The first woman to summit the mountain wasAlessandra Boarelli (1838–1908) on 16 August 1864.
Monte Viso is mentioned by various authors, Italian and non-, includingDante,Petrarch, andChaucer. Dante mentions the mountain in a longsimile in Canto XVI of theInferno as the source of theMontone River:
Come quel fiume c'ha proprio cammino
prima dalMonte Viso 'nver' levante,
da la sinistra costa d'Apennino
Chaucer cites the mountain in the prologue to theClerk's Tale in hisCanterbury Tales, in a passage adapted from Petrarch'sLatin version of his "Tale of Griselda":
A prohemie, in which discryveth he,
Pemond, and of Saluces the contree,
And speketh of Appenyn, the hilles hye,
That been the boundes of West Lumbardye,
And ofMount Vesulus in special,
Wher as the Poo out of a welle smal,
Taketh his first spryngyng and his cours
That eastward ay encresseth in his cours
To Emele-ward, to Ferare and Venyse;
The which a long thyng were to devyse.
(Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Clerk's Tale," fromThe Canterbury Tales)
