Testa di Malacosta, Mountain summit on the French-Italian border, Cottian Alps

Testa di Malacosta is a 3,212 m peak on the main Alpine watershed between the Varaita di Bellino valley in Italy and a side valley of the Ubaye in France, straddling the communes of Bellino and Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye. Its summit is a heap of detrital slopes, more uniform on the French side and cut by secondary ridges on the Italian side, crowned by a simple stone cairn. The whole mountain consists of pure, micaschistic and phylladic calcschists of the ophiolite-bearing calcschist complex, dating from the Cretaceous.

The summit lies on the main Alpine watershed between the Varaita di Bellino valley and a side valley of the Ubaye, on the border between Bellino (Italy) and Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye (France). The watershed crest runs from Cima Mongioia past the Col de Longet (3050 m) and the Colle di Malacosta before reaching the peak, then continues toward the Testa del Vallone del Lupo and the Pelvo di Ciabrera. The mountain is built of Cretaceous calcschists of the ophiolite-bearing complex known as Gastaldi's greenstones, with schistosity and fracture planes running generally north-south.

The summit is marked by a simple cairn of stones, built and maintained by the walkers who reach it. The name Malacosta appears in the toponymy of the upper Varaita and Ubaye valleys, and the peak is climbed in winter on ski mountaineering routes that link neighbouring summits in a loop.

The summit is accessible via multiple hiking trails starting from Sant'Anna di Bellino, with routes requiring moderate to advanced mountaineering skills. A mountain refuge at Melezè offers lodging for climbers who want to rest before attempting the ascent.

The summit is marked by a simple cairn of stones, not a cross or monument. The mountain is built of pure, micaschistic and phylladic calcschists of the ophiolite-bearing calcschist complex, known as Gastaldi's greenstones, dating to the Cretaceous. Their schistosity and fracture planes run generally north-south, dipping west or south-west.