Monte Bue, Mountain summit in Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, Italy.
Monte Bue is a mountain summit on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Liguria in northern Italy, rising to 1,775 meters (5,823 ft) above sea level. Its slopes are largely grass-covered with sandstone outcrops, and the vegetation changes noticeably with elevation and sun exposure.
In the 1960s a cestovia (chairlift) was built on the Aveto side linking Rocca d'Aveto, a hamlet of Santo Stefano d'Aveto, to the summit via an intermediate station at Prato della Cipolla; it opened in winter 1965 in the presence of interior minister Paolo Emilio Taviani, and a summit refuge was built at the same time. A ski lift also ran from Prato Grande dell'Anzola on the Parma side. Service ended in 1993 after several snowless winters from 1988 and the bankruptcy of the operator Val d'Aveto Spa, which also closed the refuge. Doppelmayr began a two-seater chairlift from Rocca d'Aveto to Prato Cipolla in summer 2008, inaugurated on 26 December 2008; the second section to the summit opened on 9 October 2010, and the summit refuge reopened in 2011.
The summit marks the tripoint where the Aveto, Ceno and Nure valleys meet, and the ridge dividing the Aveto and Ceno valleys splits here to form the Nure valley. The mountain's name, Monte Bue ("ox mountain"), is echoed in local lore, though the sources do not explain its origin. The summit refuge, reopened in 2011, serves as a gathering point for hikers and skiers from both slopes.
The summit is reachable by a two-seater chairlift that runs in two sections, stopping first at an intermediate station called Prato Cipolla before continuing to the top. A mountain hut near the peak offers basic facilities and shelter, which is useful for those planning a longer stay.
Monte Bue is the highest peak in the Province of Piacenza, which makes it a geographic high point in a province more often associated with its flat river plains than with mountain terrain. On a clear day, the view from the top can take in both the Po Valley to the north and the Ligurian coast to the south.
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