Monte Settepani is 1,386 metres high mountain in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, 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 re ...

, part of the

Ligurian Prealps The Ligurian Prealps (in Italian ''Prealpi Liguri'' or ''Alpi Liguri Orientali'', in French ''Préalpes liguriennes'') are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. They belong to the Ligurian Alps and are located between the regions of Piemonte ( ...

Geography

The mountain is located on the

main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest p ...

and its summit stands very close the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...

and

River Po The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...

basins, on the river Po side. Going South the Colle del Melogno (1,028 m) divides it from Bric Agnellino.''Carta turistica ed escursionistica - Provincia di Savona'' in scala 1:50.000; ed. Provincia di Savona On the summit stand some military facilities and a

weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...

. The mountain is shared between the territories of five comuni:

Osiglia Osiglia ( Ligurian and pms, Oseria) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa and about west of Savona. Osiglia borders the following municipalities: Bormida, Calizzano ...

, Bormida,

Calizzano Calizzano ( lij, Carizan or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Savona. Calizzano borders the following municipalities: Bagnasco, Bardineto ...

Magliolo Magliolo ( lij, Majeu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Magliolo borders the following municipalities: Bardineto, Calizzano ...

and Rialto.

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 * major sector = South Western Alps * section = Ligurian Alps * subsection = Prealpi Liguri * supergroup = Catena Settepani-Carmo-Armetta * group = Gruppo del Monte Settepani * subgroup = Costiera del Monte Settepani *

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 communication ...

= I/A-1.I-A.1.b

History

The area of monte Settepani was involved, as well as other neighbouring mountains, in the Italian campaigns of

Napoleone Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. During the

II World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

around the Settepani occurred other fights, this time between

Italian partisans The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

and

nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

troops. Monte Settepani could have hosted an underground

united States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

military base, a facility which, according to some sources, could have been also used by the Gladio Organization.

Access to the summit

The summit of Monte Settepani is reached by a small asphalted road, closed to the general public and built in order to connect the military base on the mountain with the Colle del Melogno national road. The summit can also be reached on foot by some footpath from various starting points as, for instance, the Colla Baltera.

Nature conservation

The mountain and its surrounding area are part of a SIC ''(

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

)'' called ''M.Carmo - M.Settepani'' (code: IT1323112).Bollettino Ufficiale Regione Liguria nr.13 of 15-7-2009; the Ligurian SIC list is on-line a
lrv.regione.liguria.it
(access: July 2015)

Maps

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Settepani Mountains of the Ligurian Alps Mountains of Liguria One-thousanders of Italy Natura 2000 in Italy