Viso
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About
Monte Viso or Monviso (Italian: [moɱˈviːzo]; Occitan: Vísol [ˈvizul]; Piedmontese: Brich ëd Viso [ˈbrik əd ˈvizʊ] or simply Viso) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peaks by about 500 m, it can be seen from a great distance, including from the Piedmontese plateau, the Langhe, the Theodulpass in the Zermatt ski area, the Col du Galibier and the summits of the Mont Blanc massif. On a very clear day, it can be seen from the spires of Milan Cathedral.
It has been suggested that Monte Viso could be one of the mountains which inspired the Paramount logo, even though the company has denied the claims. In Italy it is also known as il Re di Pietra ("the Stone King") because of its prominence within the western Italian Alps. It was declared a cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2013.
The longest river of Italy, River Po, is born at the mountain's foot.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.