Monte Tamaro, Mountain summit in Ticino, Switzerland

Monte Tamaro is a 1960 m summit in the Lugano Prealps, south-west of the Monte Ceneri pass, which it helps divide Ticino into Sopraceneri and Sottoceneri. A cable car runs from Rivera to Alpe Foppa at 1567 m, and from there the summit is about an hour's walk. On La Manèra, the eastern sub-peak at 1858 m, stands a large Swisscom radio relay station.

From the 1960s the Rivera–Alpe Foppa cable car turned Monte Tamaro into a small ski area with a two-seat chairlift, three T-bar lifts and five pistes of about 15 km. Poor snow in the 1990s brought financial trouble, and in 2003 the lifts closed and the slopes became a summer park. The Capanna del Tamaro at 1867 m, about 30 minutes below the summit, was converted from an old military structure.

The Cappella di S. Maria degli Angeli on Alpe Foppa (1567 m) was designed by Ticino architect Mario Botta from 1990 and built between 1992 and 1994; it was consecrated on 1 September 1996. Inside are paintings by Enzo Cucchi. Nearby stand other sculptures: the Madonna del Tamaro by Antonio Danzi, Il guardiano del tempio by Luca Marcionelli and Suspended Cube by Jaya Schürch.

Access is by cable car from Rivera-Bironico to Alpe Foppa, which operates daily year-round. Bring sturdy footwear and prepare for changing weather conditions at elevation.

From the summit, the view reaches the Monte Rosa massif and the Matterhorn; on clear days it takes in both the lowest point of Switzerland at Lago Maggiore and the highest, the Dufourspitze. The ridge walk to Monte Lema (1624 m) takes about four and a half hours.