The Monte San Giorgio is a mountain in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, 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 re ...

. It is located in 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 ...

Piossasco Piossasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 20 km southwest of Turin at the foot of the Monte San Giorgio. Piossasco borders the following municipalities: Trana, ...

Features

The mountain overlooks the centre of

and belongs to the North flank of the

Chisola Chisola is a torrent (stream), torrent in Piedmont, north-western Italy. Geography Chisola source is at c. 1,250 m, at the merge of two separante torrent-like branches coming from Monte Tre Denti (1,445 m) and Monte Brunello/Monte Fre ...

valley. On its summit three ridges meet: the Eastern one goes down to the saddle ''Colle della Serva'', then regains elevation with the Rôcàs (825 m) and connects the mountain with the Montagnazza and the rest of the Alpine chain; the brief North and South ridges divide the flat area where the centre of Piosasco lies from the

valley (South) and from the short valley drained by a stream named ''Bealera di Piossasco''. On the summit of Monte San Giorgio stands a tall

summit cross A summit cross (german: Gipfelkreuz) is a cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or at least a weatherproof case. Various other form ...

, a small shelter devoted to the memory of Lorenzo Nicola, an Italian officer who died in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1943 and awarded with the

Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

, and the

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

Middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

church.

Geology

The rocks which form the mountain belong to the ''

Ultrabasic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are compos ...

Lanzo massif'', a geologic formation of an extremely deep origin. Its prevailing rocks are

peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high prop ...

s, very rich in

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

and which strongly influence the soil chemistry of the area, and thus its

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

Access to the summit

Pedestrian access

The shortest

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

way to attain the mountain is the footpath which starts from "Tre castelli" (

) and, after crossing a place named "Croce dei Castelli" (450 m), reaches the summit through its sunny South ridge. Another footpath connects Piossasco with Monte San Giorgio through the small church of San Valeriano, and can be used on the way back in order to form an hiking loop. Other hiking itineraries cross the mountain; among them the ''David Bertrand'' footpath, devoted to the memory of a young volunteer fireman fallen on duty during a wood-fire.

Mountain bike

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

, also starting from Piossasco, the summit can be reached following a

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

which passes close to the small church of San Valeriano and, after crossing the NE slopes of he mountain, reaches its summit the colle della Serva (728 m) and, after some hairpins, the summit of Monte San Giorgio.

Winter access

During snowy winters the summit can be reached with

snow shoes Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

Maps

* ''6 - Pinerolese Val Sangone'', 1:25.000 scale, publisher: Fraternali, Ciriè * ''17 - Torino Pinerolo e Bassa Val di Susa'', 1:50.000 scale, publisher: IGC -

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

, Torino

References

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