Excursion to M. Canto Alto dalla fraz. M. by Nese

Canto Alto can be rightly defined as the “mountain of Bergamo” par excellence: clearly visible from the city, with its unmistakable silhouette, it can also be reached by having only half a day off. Passable almost all year round, except in the case of heavy snowfalls, the trip is characterized by the vast and suggestive panorama visible from the summit, on which stands a giant iron cross, built in 1979 and visible tens of kilometers away. While easy, the hike requires a minimum of experience and attention in the last steep stretch on the ridge.

From the town of Alzano Lombardo, at the entrance of the Val Seriana, you can reach the hamlet Monte di Nese, at 800 meters above sea level, in a beautiful panoramic position (about 20 kilometers from Bergamo). From the new parish church we continue briefly along the paved road, and then take on the left a mule track, which soon leads to a marked pass, called the Forcella.

Then turn left, starting to cross with a few ups and downs the steep northern slopes of Monte Cavallo, immersed in a thick forest.
You then reach a wide and rounded meadow hill — the Canto Basso — from which you continue in a west direction along the comfortable ridge, which later turns into a ridge, sometimes steep and bumpy. With a little effort and attention, we finally take you to the wide summit of Canto Alto, with its colossal cross: 1146 meters altitude, 1.30 hours from the start. The return takes place along the same path as the climb, and takes about 1.15 hours. In
the dark centuries of the Middle Ages, in the midst of the bloody disputes between Guelphs and Ghibellines, exactly on the top of the mountain, by virtue of its exceptional strategic position, a real and own fortress, repeatedly documented. Probably had to be a fortified structure of considerable size, as demonstrated by some excavations carried out in 1978, which brought to light among other things a cistern for the rainwater collection, an indication of the presence of an unlimited group of soldiers.

It should also be noted that we are in the heart of the Parco dei Colli, an important protected area that in recent decades has had the great merit of preserving almost intact the vast and suggestive a succession of hills that surround the city of Bergamo to the north.

Technical sheet
Travel time: 2.45 hours
Starting altitude: m. 800 Gain
altitude: m. 400 approx. lt; br> Difficulty: T — Tourist
Recommended period: All year round, in the absence of any
Region: Lombardy
Province: Bergamo
Valle/area: hill

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