"A blow to the heart" Vandals destroy summit cross and Madonna on the Basòdino

Unknown persons have destroyed the summit cross, a statue of the Virgin Mary and the summit book on the second-highest mountain in Ticino. For the local mountain community, the act is a serious blow - and raises questions about the motives.

On the Basòdino (3272 m), the second highest mountain in the canton of Ticino, unknown persons have uprooted the summit cross and a statue of the Madonna and torn up the traditional summit book. The incident has only just come to light; the exact date of the crime is unclear, but is likely to be in the last few weeks.

Roberto Iori, operator of the nearby Robiei mountain hut, is deeply saddened: "It's a blow to the heart," he tells Tio.ch. The thought that the perpetrator or perpetrators may even have passed by his hut or spent the night there is particularly painful. He is considering pressing charges against persons unknown and suspects religiously motivated vandalism: "It's not the first time that summit crosses have been the target of destruction."

A piece of Alpine culture was willfully destroyed

The summit book, in which mountaineers and hikers record their impressions, was torn up and the religious symbols uprooted. One hiker was also shocked: "It doesn't even look like the same summit anymore."

For Iori and many in the region, the act is particularly bitter as it happened a year after the devastating floods in the Upper Maggia Valley. "We give everything for this region," says Iori, "and now this new problem has come along."

Summit crosses have a long history in Alpine tradition: according to the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), they have been around since the year 327. They not only mark the highest point of a mountain, but also house the highly symbolic summit book - a piece of Alpine culture that was wantonly destroyed here.