Monte Generoso

{{short description|Mountain in Switzerland}}

{{Redirect|Generoso|people so named|Generoso (given name)}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Monte Generoso

| other_name = Calvagione

| photo = Montegeneroso.JPG

| photo_size = 285

| photo_caption = Monte Generoso, as seen from Cantello in Italy

| elevation_m = 1701

| elevation_ref =

| prominence_m = 1321

| prominence_ref = Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic maps. The key col is located near Cardano at 380 metres.

| isolation_km = 14.4

| isolation_ref = Retrieved from Google Earth. The nearest point of higher elevation is south of the Cima di Fojorina.

| range = Lugano Prealps

| parent_peak =

| listing = {{ubl|Mountains of Switzerland|Mountains of Ticino}}

| location = Ticino, Switzerland
Lombardy, Italy

| map = Alps

| map_caption = Location in the Alps

| coordinates = {{coord|45|55|52.5|N|9|01|12|E|type:mountain_region:CH-TI_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref =

| easiest_route = Hike or Monte Generoso Railway

}}

File:Picswiss TI-18-03.jpg and Melide]]

Monte Generoso (also known as Calvagione) is a mountain of the Lugano Prealps, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy and between Lake Lugano and Lake Como. The western and southern flanks of the mountain lie in the Swiss canton of Ticino, whilst the north-eastern flanks are in the Italian region of Lombardy.Translated from the Italian Wikipedia article Monte Generoso{{cite map | publisher = Swiss Confederation | title = map.geo.admin.ch | url = http://map.geo.admin.ch/?selectedNode=LT1_5&Y=722636&X=87530.5&zoom=5&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&lang=en | access-date = 2012-07-03}}

The view from the summit of the mountain encompasses the lakes of Lugano, Como, Varese and Maggiore. To the north are the Alps, stretching from the Matterhorn via the Jungfrau and the Saint-Gotthard Massif to the Bernina Range. To the south are the Lombardy Plains and the Po Valley, with the city of Milan and the Apennine Mountains visible on a clear day.{{cite web | url = http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/13/home.aspx | title = Monte Generoso | publisher = Monte Generoso Railway | access-date = 2012-07-03}}

The summit can be approached by the Monte Generoso Railway, a rack railway that starts from Capolago in Switzerland, and climbs via the western flank of the mountain. The summit station includes a panoramic terrace and buffet, a restaurant and a hotel. The new restaurant Fiore di pietra (stone flower) designed by the architect Mario Botta was inaugurated on 29 March 2017. A paved path links the railway's summit station to the summit proper, a distance of approximately {{convert|350|m}} and a difference in altitude of about {{convert|100|m}}.{{cite web | url = http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/58/default.aspx | title = From the restaurant to the summit | publisher = Monte Generoso Railway | access-date = 2012-08-21}}{{cite web | url = http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/32/restaurant-and-gastronomic-offers.aspx | title = Restaurants and Accommodation | publisher = Monte Generoso Railway | access-date = 2012-08-21}}

There is road access from Mendrisio in Switzerland to Bellavista, some {{convert|3|km}} from the summit and an intermediate station on the railway. Hiking trails reach the summit from different starting points, including Bellavista, Capolago and Mendrisio.{{cite web | url = http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/51/escursionismo.aspx | title = Itineraries to discover the mountain | publisher = Monte Generoso Railway | access-date = 2012-08-21}}

Before its dismantlement in 2021,{{cite web |url=https://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/plan/ferrovia/steamtrain |title=Steamtrain {{!}} Discover our history, date by date |work=Ferrovia Monte Generoso |access-date=2 June 2025}} the Monte Generoso Observatory was located adjacent to the railway's summit station, where it was operated by the Monte Generoso Insubrica Astronomy Group.{{cite web |url=http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/34/astronomy.aspx |title=The Insubrica Astronomy Group (GIA-MG) |work=Monte Generoso |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401105129/http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/34/astronomy.aspx |archive-date=1 April 2015 |access-date=2 June 2025 |url-status=dead}} Also nearby is a small chapel dating from the 20th century.

The area is included in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} The mountain slopes are home to a herd of between 300 and 350 chamois.{{cite web | url = http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/78/the-chamois-symbol-of-monte-generoso.aspx | title = The Chamois: Symbol of Monte Generoso | publisher = Monte Generoso Railway | access-date = 2012-08-21}}

The artist and author Edward Lear spent summers from 1878 to 1883 on the mountain. His oil painting The Plains of Lombardy from Monte Generoso is in the Ashmolean Museum in the English city of Oxford.{{cite book | title = Switzerland Without A Car | year = 2013 | publisher = Bradt Travel Guides | location = Chalfont St. Peter | edition = 5th | isbn = 978-1-84162-447-1 | first = Anthony | last = Lambert | pages = 336–7}}{{cite web | url = https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-plains-of-lombardy-from-monte-generoso-142266 | title = The Plains of Lombardy from Monte Generoso | publisher = Art UK | access-date = 2014-06-27}}

Image: Fiore di pietra (Mario Botta).jpg

{{wide image|20170625 MonteGeneroso.jpg|1200px|Monte Generoso panorama, 2017}}