Monte Lesima, 1,724 m high, is on the border of Piacenza and Pavia provinces between the Avagnone and Boreca rivers, both tributaries of Trebbia river. Lesima is one of the highest mountains in Piacenza Apennine.
Monte Lesima is unique because of its white dome just below the top, where there is a large cross. It is an ENAV radar plant, a maxi radar used to monitor air traffic that was set here in the 1990s. The mountain can be seen from two different perspectives: on the one hand it offers delicate sides covered by wood and pastures, on the other it shows cliffs of stratified rocks.
A legend recalls tha the toponym Lesima comes from Hannibal. When he participated in the Trebbia battle, the Carthaginian general climbed on top of this mountain to have a better view of the surrounding area but wounded his hand. In Latin, a wounded hand is lesa manus, hence Lesima.
From the top of monte Lesima you can see Mar Ligure on cloudless days, only 40 km away, but you can also see one of the most beautiful and wild valleys in Piacenza, Val Boreca, and the long line of mountains surrounding it.
On top lies the border between Piacenza (which holds the northern, souther, western and part of the eastern sides of the mountain) and Pavia (which owns a small portion of the eastern side) provinces. The mountain is also a few kilometres away from the border of Alessandria province.
