In a world we want to conquer at any cost, there is a place we choose to leave untouched: a summit to observe, to respect, to hand back to nature.
The project
Montagna Sacra proposes to recognise a secular sacredness in Monveso di Forzo: a symbolic space to leave to nature and to other living beings, voluntarily giving up the climb to its summit.
Montagna Sacra is a cultural project that proposes to voluntarily exclude Monveso di Forzo (3,322 m), in the Gran Paradiso National Park, from human presence. It is not a ban, but a free choice to abstain from the climb: a symbolic gesture to acknowledge our limits and give space back to nature.
The idea was born in 2022, around the centenary of the Gran Paradiso National Park: not only a celebration, but a cultural signal for the next hundred years. National parks were created to protect nature and to build a more conscious relationship with ecosystems.
The proposal introduces no formal restrictions, penalties or new obligations. Instead it asks for a simple and radical gesture: choosing not to climb, turning the mountain into a place to observe, contemplate and respect. A place to reflect.
The project invites a cultural shift in the relationship between people and nature: from conquest to relationship, from performance to listening, from physical possession to recognising its intrinsic value.
Not everything we are able to do must be done.
To abstain does not mean to deprive ourselves: here, abstention gives back space, meaning and future.
Why Monveso
Monveso di Forzo rises between Valle Soana and Valle di Cogne, on the ridge between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park.
The proposal was born to reflect on the idea of limits in a society marked by speed, competition and a growing consumption of resources.
Its pyramidal shape, its position among wild valleys and the fact that it is already rarely climbed make it a coherent symbolic place.
Leaving a mountain untouched means remembering that nature does not exist only for human purposes, but has value of its own.
Manifesto
Montagna Sacra is a cultural proposal. A call to rethink the way we experience the mountains and, more broadly, how we relate to nature.
Leaving room for what is not us: animals, plants, rocks, silences, natural processes.
Recognising that being able to reach a place does not imply the cultural right to occupy it.
Taking a step back as a free choice, not as an imposition or a punitive sacrifice.
Experiencing the mountain also by looking at it from afar, without always turning it into a performance.
Voices of the project
Mountaineers, writers and scholars share the meaning of the project: the limit, the sacred as "that which is different from us", the mountain as a place of reflection rather than conquest.
L'alpinista e scrittore Alessandro Gogna racconta il senso del progetto Montagna Sacra: il limite, il sacro come ciò che è diverso da noi, la montagna come luogo di riflessione e non di conquista.
Watch the interview →
L'ex direttore del Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso Antonio Mingozzi parla del rapporto tra uomo e natura e del significato del progetto Montagna Sacra.
Watch the interview →
Lo scrittore e alpinista Enrico Camanni descrive la Montagna Sacra come un simbolo e una provocazione dolce capace di generare un nuovo sguardo sulla montagna.
Watch the interview →Gallery
Images that tell the story of the mountain: its pyramidal shape, the changing light, the wild valleys. Monveso di Forzo seen by those who chose to observe it, not to climb it.
Membership form
Fill in the form to share the manifesto and join the network of people who embrace the idea of voluntarily setting a limit to human intrusion in a symbolic place of the Gran Paradiso National Park.
What joining means: sharing the project manifesto and committing not to climb Monveso di Forzo, recognising the mountain as a place to leave to other living beings.
Joining is completely free. Your email will be used solely for communications within the Montagna Sacra project (updates, events, initiatives). It will never be shared with third parties or used for any other purpose.
Who we are
Montagna Sacra was born and grows thanks to the voluntary contribution of a proposing committee and a wider working group: mountaineers, writers, scholars and citizens who share and carry the project forward.
Events
Meetings, walks, talks and public moments connected to the Montagna Sacra project.
News
Stories, reports and updates to follow the evolution of the project and related initiatives.
Un attacco silenzioso, perpetrato a colpi di cartografia e delibere burocratiche, rischia di sfregiare l’integrità dell’area protetta più antica d’Italia. La recente trasmissione della documentazione da parte della Comunità del Parco all’Ente Gran Paradiso sancisce l'avvio ufficiale di un iter che definire preoccupante è un eufemismo: la proposta di estromettere il cosiddetto "budello" di Valsavarenche dai confini del Parco Nazionale.
Read →
Il team di Bergauf-Bergab sceglie una vetta di tremila metri sconosciuta ma suggestiva: il Monveso di Forzo. Un gruppo di abitanti della Val Soana, a sud del Parco Nazionale, vorrebbe renderlo una montagna «sacra» e quindi off-limits – come simbolo del fatto che l’uomo non deve necessariamente poter accedere a ogni luogo.
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Il tema è la regolamentazione dell’accesso dei mezzi motorizzati ai 2612 metri del Colle. Nello specifico lo scopo è la condivisione dei risultati della sperimentazione messa in atto nel 2025, dopo lo stop nel 2023 al progetto ventennale “A piedi fra le nuvole”. Lo scopo è la quadratura del cerchio… .
Read →Frequently asked questions
What "Montagna Sacra" means, why Monveso di Forzo in particular, and how to join: the key points explained clearly.
Montagna Sacra is a cultural project born in 2022 that proposes to voluntarily leave Monveso di Forzo (3,322 m), in the Gran Paradiso National Park, untouched. Here "sacred" has no religious meaning: it points to a place to be recognised as different from us, to be observed and respected rather than conquered. The project introduces no bans or penalties: it asks for a free and symbolic gesture — choosing not to climb the mountain, in order to give space back to nature and to other living beings.
Monveso di Forzo is a 3,322-metre mountain on the ridge between Valle Soana (Piedmont) and Valle di Cogne (Aosta Valley), in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park. It has a distinctive pyramidal shape and is surrounded by wild valleys. It is an elegant summit that is already rarely climbed: for this very reason it was chosen as the symbolic place of the project, a point to contemplate from below rather than to reach at the top.
No. Montagna Sacra is not a ban and involves no penalties, restrictions or new rules. Joining means sharing the project manifesto and committing, freely and voluntarily, not to climb to the summit of Monveso di Forzo. It is a cultural and personal choice: an abstention that deprives us of nothing, but gives the mountain back its value as a place to leave to nature. Those who do not join remain free to climb: the project works on the level of meaning, not of imposition.
To join, simply fill in the form in the "Join" section of this website, providing your first name, last name, email and, optionally, your city and organisation. Joining is free. You can choose whether or not to allow your name to appear publicly in the list of supporters: without this consent, your membership remains private. Every request is verified before publication. For any change or deletion of your data, you can write to montagnasacra22@gmail.com.
The project was born in 2022 for the centenary of the Gran Paradiso National Park, established in 1922 as the first Italian national park. The idea was to accompany the celebrations with a strong cultural signal for the next hundred years: not only to recall the protection of nature, but to propose a new relationship between people and mountains based on limits, on listening and on recognising the intrinsic value of ecosystems, rather than on conquest and performance.
Archive
Historical materials, documents and in-depth articles already published remain available on Sherpa Gate.