Punta Maria Cristina, Mountain summit in Valais, Switzerland

Punta Maria Cristina is a 3,706 m mountain of the Pennine Alps on the Swiss-Italian border, on the main Alpine watershed between the Dent d'Hérens and the Matterhorn. Its Italian side rises above Valtournenche in the Aosta Valley, its Swiss side above the Mattertal in Valais. A permanent bivouac shelter, the Giorgio e Renzo Novella, stands on the summit.

The sources record no founding date or naming expedition for Punta Maria Cristina; its documented history is modern. In 1983 a permanent bivouac shelter was installed on the summit and named Giorgio e Renzo Novella, after two brothers from Vercelli who both died while climbing. The peak stands on the main Alpine watershed between the Dent d'Hérens and the Matterhorn.

The permanent bivouac shelter Giorgio e Renzo Novella built in 1983 honors two brothers from Vercelli who died during climbing expeditions. Mountaineers visiting this place acknowledge the memorial as they pass through the high alpine terrain.

Summer months offer the best conditions for climbing, when snow and ice are least problematic. Starting from established base camps in the surrounding valleys provides the safest approach.

The summit bivouac, named Giorgio e Renzo Novella, was dedicated in 1983 to two brothers from Vercelli who both died while climbing. The shelter stands directly on the 3,706 m summit on the Swiss-Italian border, between the Dent d'Hérens and the Matterhorn.