The Ossola (; ), also Valle Ossola or Val d'Ossola (; ), is an area of

Northwest Italy Northwest Italy ( or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwest encompasses four of the ...

situated to the north of

Lago Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the List of lakes of Italy, second largest lake in Italy and the List of lakes of Switzerland, largest in southern Sw ...

. It lies within the

Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola The province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (, ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the province of Novara. The ar ...

. Its principal river is the

Toce The Toce (; ; ) is a river in Piedmont, Italy, which stretches the length of the Val d'Ossola from the Swiss border to Lake Maggiore into which it debouches near Fondotoce in the commune of Verbania. The river is long and is formed in the uppe ...

, and its most important town

Domodossola Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...

Etymology

There are many etymological claims as to the origins of the name ''Ossola'', the most likely being

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

for "high lands". The German and Walser names for the valley translate to "valley of the

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

s".

Geography

Ossola is composed of one main valley (the Ossola proper) and seven side valleys: Anzasca, Antrona,

Bognanco Bognanco (Western Lombard: ''Bügnanch''), population about 250, is a commune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located in an Alpine valley, called Val Bognanco, about northeast of Turin immediately to the ...

, Divedro, Antigorio,

Formazza Formazza (; ; ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Verbania, on the border with Switzerland. Formazza borders the following municipalit ...

, Isorno and Vigezzo. It is surrounded by the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

on the western side and by the

Lepontine Alps The Lepontine Alps (, , ) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Canton of Uri, Uri and Graubünden) and Italy (Piedmont and Lombardy). The Simplon Tunnel, Simplon rail tunnel ...

on the northern and eastern sides. The main towns are

Villadossola Villadossola (Piedmontese ''Vila d'Òssola'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Val d’Ossola in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont, northern Italy, some northeast of Turin. It stands just south of Domodossola, to the west of the Toc ...

Crevoladossola Crevoladossola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Verbania. Crevoladossola borders the following municipalities: Bognan ...

Ornavasso Ornavasso (Ossolano: ''Urnavass'', Walser German: ''Urnafasch'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Verbania. Overview Or ...

and

Mergozzo Mergozzo (''Margözz'' in Ossolano dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Verbania. Mergozzo borders the followi ...

. Ossola’s highest elevation is the

Nordend Nordend (meaning ''north end'' in German) is a northern peak of the Monte Rosa Massif. Nordend is the fourth highest peak of the massif, after the Dufourspitze (4,634 m), the Dunantspitze (4,632 m) and the Grenzgipfel (4,618 m). See also *L ...

, a peak of the

Monte Rosa Massif Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

, which is also the highest peak of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. Excluding the Monte Rosa's peaks, other important mountains are the Pizzo d'Andolla, the

Monte Leone Monte Leone is the highest mountain of the Lepontine Alps and is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. The mountain stands on the extreme west of the Lepontine Alps, a few kilometres east of Simplon Pass. Etymology ''Leone'' in ...

, the

Corno Cieco The Blinnenhorn (German) or Corno Cieco (Italian) is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between Italy and Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-centra ...

and, in the lower part of the valley, the Monte Capezzone and the Monte Massone. It is home to the

Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero Natural Park The Alpe Veglia and Alpe Devero Natural Park was established in 1995 and is in the Ossola valley, in Piedmont, in the Province of Verbania, Italy. It is part of the Western Alps, Occidental Alps. History The hollows are geologically and mineralo ...

, Alta Valle Antrona Natural Park and also includes parts of the

Val Grande National Park Val Grande National Park () is a protected area located in Piedmont, in the north of Italy. It is most notable for landscapes of the High Alps. Geography The park is located in Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and is shared between ten municipali ...

, Italy’s largest wilderness area.

History

Republic of Ossola

In 1944, with the

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...

still stuck south of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

controlling all of

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, the

Italian partisans The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

staged an uprising behind German lines, led by the Committee of National Liberation of Upper Italy. This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of provisional partisan governments throughout Northern Italy, of which the Free Republic of Ossola was the most prominent.Pellanda 2010 It received official recognition from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and from Allied consulates in Switzerland. Within a few weeks, German reinforcements had crushed the uprising, and the area's liberation had to wait until the final offensives of 1945.

Notes

References

*Pellanda, Luigi (2010). ''Storm Over Ossola: Diary of Luigi Pellanda''. Author House.

External links

Comunità Montana Valle Ossola
- Official website
Parco Nazionale Val Grande
- Val Grande National Park's official website.
Ossolaland
- Land of Parks, Website in English (Francais, Nederlands, Deutsch, Italiano). {{Authority control Valleys of Piedmont Italian partisan republics