San Jorio Pass

San Jorio Pass
Pass height	2012 m above sea level M.
expansion	Mule track
Mountains	Alps
	Map (Ticino)
Coordinates , ( CH )	46 ° 10 '0 " N , 9 ° 9' 33" O ( 732 870 / 114260 ) coordinates: 46 ° 10 '0 " N , 9 ° 9' 33" O ; CH1903: seven hundred thirty-two thousand eight hundred seventy / 114260

Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

x

The San-Jorio-Pass (Italian Passo San Jorio , old German dialectal name Jörisberg with Jöris or Joris derived from Latin Georgius i.e. high German Georg) is a 2012 m above sea level. M. high Saumpass east of Bellinzona . According to SOIUSA , it forms the border between the Comer Prealps subsection and the Lugano Prealps section and the Adula Alps subsection and the Lepontine Alps section . The border between Italy and Switzerland runs at the top of the pass .

geography

The San Jorio Pass represents a transition from the Swiss Valle Morobbia to the Italian Val Dongo and thus connects the region around Bellinzona with Gravedona on northern Lake Como . In the north the pass is flanked by the Marmontana ( 2316 m slm ). South of the pass, the ridge is even lower in some places, but the very steep and impassable slopes were not suitable for creating a mule track. The only exception that has already been made is the Passo della Traversa (with a detour to the San Jorio Chapel above the pass of the same name), over which a route variant still leads today. Geologically, the San Jorio Pass lies on the Insubric Line , a tertiary fracture zone in the southern Alps .

history

In the late Middle Ages , the San Jorio Pass was an important transition from the Magadino plain to Lake Como. A mule track over the pass is mentioned in 1465 when the Republic of Como set up a toll near the top of the pass. In the following times, the pass was primarily important for west-east traffic between the southern Alpine valleys, but was largely forgotten after the construction of railways. The former customs house, located a little to the east below the top of the pass at an altitude of 1980 m on the Italian side, now serves as a managed refuge with overnight accommodation under the name Rifugio San Jorio . The chapel of San Jorio stands in a promising location on a hilltop south of the crossing, which still bears witness to the earlier times when the pass was an important traffic route.