Monte Generoso (1,704 m) rises on the border between Ticino and Italy, above the Mendrisiotto — the southernmost tip of Switzerland. A rack railway from Capolago on Lake Lugano reaches the summit, where the view on a clear day extends from the Alps to the Apennines, with the entire Po Plain spread between them. On exceptional days, the dome of Milan Cathedral is visible 55 kilometres to the south.
The summit has a small alpine hut and the remarkable Fiore di Pietra building designed by Mario Botta. The walk along the ridge south to the border gives the best sense of the mountain's position between two countries and two worlds. In spring, the upper slopes are covered in wildflowers; in summer, the temperature at the summit runs ten degrees cooler than the lakeside towns below.