Monte Cocusso, Mountain summit in Trieste Karst, Italy

Monte Cocusso is a mountain summit in the Trieste Karst that sits on the border between Italy and Slovenia at 672 meters elevation. The landscape features steep slopes, limestone formations, and forests of black pine that cover the slopes and ridges.

The mountain holds remains of an ancient burial site called Velika Groblja at 662 meters elevation that dates back to the Bronze Age. These archaeological discoveries show that the region was inhabited and used by people since prehistoric times.

The people living near Basovizza called this mountain Mačka, which means Cat in their language, while Ožeg refers to a significant fire that once swept through the area. These local names show how communities connected their landscape to everyday life and memorable events.

Monte Cocusso is reached by CAI trails 3 and 28, which climb from Basovizza, Grozzana or Pesek to the Jirmanec summit, where the Planinska koča na Kokoši mountain hut stands. The summit ridge lies on the Italian-Slovenian border, so carry valid identification; paths also link up from the Slovenian side.

On the western slope at 550 m, Austrian foresters planted a trial plot of Cephalonian fir in 1884; about a hundred Norway spruces followed at 643 m in 1936. The southern slope instead carries the typical Karst scrub of black hornbeam, and among the large trees are a wild lime with a 353 cm trunk and an isolated beech of 273 cm.