Monte Cistella

In my young days - on the summit of Monte Cistella (2880 m), Lepontine Alps, Italy. The old cross is still there - broken - and a new cross has raised. Cistella is not a high peak, but is the most symbolic mountain of the Ossola valley. The view from up there is incomparable! It is the most loved by the Ossolani, especially by the poet Giovanni Leoni "Torototela", who over one hundred years ago sang its praise. He took the initiative to build a shelter, a hut, under the skirts of this mountain. The hut (Rifugio Leoni) was built in 1899 and was inaugurated in August 1901. (Scanned picture, August 1980).