Colma di Mombarone (or simply ''Mombarone)'' is a mountain of the
Biellese Alps
The Biellese Alps (''Alpi Biellesi'' or ''Prealpi Biellesi'' in Italian) are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located between Piemonte and Aosta Valley (Italy).
Etymology
''Alpi Biellesi'' literally means ''Alps of Biellese''; ''Biellese'' is th ...
, a sub-range of
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 ...
, in northern
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 ...
. It visually marks, along with Monte Gregorio on the opposite side, the entrance of
Aosta Valley
, Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official languages
, population_blank1 = Italian French
...
from the
Po plain
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
. On its top in 1900 was built a huge statue, still located there, of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.
Etymology
The name comes from
Piedmontese language
Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...
: ''Colma'' is a term used in the northern Piedmont and referring to a
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
* Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
* Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
* Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits
* Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...
or a high place, while ''Mombarone'' is the italianisation of the piedmontese ''Monbaron'', where ''mon'' is for ''mount'' and ''baron'' means ''heap'' or ''pile''.
Geography
The mountain is located between
Dora Baltea
Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long.
Name
The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρ ...
and
Cervo valleys, on the border between
Province of Turin and
province of Biella
The Province of Biella ( it, Provincia di Biella, Piedmontese: ''Provincia ëd Biela'') is a province of Italy located in Piedmont. It was created in 1992 and its capital is the city of Biella.
It has an area of , and a total population of 17 ...
, both in
Piemonte
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
region. Administratively it is divided between 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 also ...
s of
Settimo Vittone
Settimo Vittone ( pms, Ël Seto Viton) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is located about north of Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business ...
(in the
province of Turin),
Donato and
Graglia
Graglia ( pms, Graja) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Biella
Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the ...
(both in the
province of Biella
The Province of Biella ( it, Provincia di Biella, Piedmontese: ''Provincia ëd Biela'') is a province of Italy located in Piedmont. It was created in 1992 and its capital is the city of Biella.
It has an area of , and a total population of 17 ...
).
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 designe ...
(''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 =
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 ...
* subsection = Southern Valsesia Alps
* supergroup =
Alpi Biellesi
The Biellese Alps (''Alpi Biellesi'' or ''Prealpi Biellesi'' in Italian) are a sub-range of the Pennine Alps located between Piemonte and Aosta Valley (Italy).
Etymology
''Alpi Biellesi'' literally means ''Alps of Biellese''; ''Biellese'' is th ...
* group = Catena Tre Vescovi - Mars
* subgroup =
*
code = I/B-9.IV-A.1
Access to the summit
![Mombarone da bollengo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Mombarone_da_bollengo.jpg)
The easiest routes for the summit are two long but well marked footpaths, one starting from San Giacomo di
Andrate
Andrate (Piedmontese: ''Andrà'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about north of Turin.
Andrate borders the following municipalities: Settimo Vittone, Donato, Nomaglio, B ...
(
TO) and another from San Carlo di
Graglia
Graglia ( pms, Graja) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Biella
Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the ...
(
BI); both of them converge on the southern ridge of the mountain.
[''Guida alle Alpi biellesi'', Giancarlo Regis e Renza Piana Regis, libreria Vittorio Giovannacci, Biella 1981]
Nearby the mountain's top, at 2,312 m, is located ''Rifugio Mombarone'', a permanent mountain hut.
Maps
* Italian official cartography (''
Istituto Geografico Militare
The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy.
Overvie ...
'' - IGM); on-line version
www.pcn.minambiente.it* Provincia di Biella cartography: ''Carta dei sentieri della Provincia di Biella'', 1:25.00 scale, 2004; on line version:
webgis.provincia.biella.it
References
{{Portal, Geography, Mountains
Mombarone
Mombarone
Two-thousanders of Italy
Graglia