Monte Spinarda is a mountain of the Ligurian Prealps in

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 ...

Geography

The mountain belongs to the

Ligurian Alps The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende and the Vermenagna valley ...

and is located between the province of Savona (

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, south) and the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

(

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

, north). Monte Spinarda is the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

where 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 ...

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, Bardine ...

and the

ese ones of

Garessio Garessio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo. The former Savoy family palace, the Reggia di Val Casotto is located within the town li ...

and

Priola Priola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo. Priola borders the following municipalities: Bagnasco, Calizzano, Garessio, and Viola ...

meet. Is located very close to the drainage divide between

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of dra ...

and Bormida valleys, on the Bormida valley side, a very long ridge which branches from 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 ...

at Monte Cianea. In 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'') Monte Spinarda belongs to the Ligurian Prealps and, within them, to ''Monte Carmo'' group and ''Dorsale Spinarda-Sotta'' subgroup (

SOIUSA code SOIUSA code is the code used in the International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps (ISMSA or SOIUSA), a proposal by Italian Alpinist, Sergio Marazzi, to re- categorize the mountains and mountain ranges of the Alps. The proposal has b ...

:I/A-1.I-A.2.b).

Geology

The ''Anfiboliti di monte Spinarda'', an outcrop of amphibolites recordered in the Italian official geologic map, was named after the mountain.

History

Monte Spinarda croce di vetta a dx Bric Mindino

The area surrounding Monte Spinarda was involved by wartime operations linked to the Italian campaigns of Napoleone Bonaparte and in 1799 the Frenche Army occupied its summit. Nearby, in a place called ''Vignale'', during the 19th century mineralogists found some gold in the form of

sulphate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

Access to the summit

The summit of Monte Spinarda can be easily reached on foot by

Colle del Quazzo The Colle del Quazzo (1090 m) is a mountain pass in the Ligurian Alps (Italy). It connects Garessio (Piedmont) with Calizzano (Liguria). Geography The pass stands between Bric Meriano (NW, 1.251 m) and Bric verdiola (SE, 1.154 ...

or, with a longer walk, from

. During snowy winters the summit can also be accessed with

snowshoes 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 ...

. The hike is appreciated not only for the good views on the surrounding mountains, but also for its low risk of

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

Conservation

Monte Spinarda slopes are mainly covered with beech woods and shrubs. Its Ligurian side belongs to the 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 ''Monte Spinarda - Rio Nero'' - code ''IT1323014''.

Maps

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinarda monte One-thousanders of Italy Mountains of Liguria Mountains of Piedmont Mountains of the Ligurian Alps Province of Savona Province of Cuneo