Monte Generoso (1701 m) is a mountain for (almost) all. Day-trippers jostle on the summit platform on fair weather days, a quarter of an hour's walk from the top of the cog railway. Paragliders also launch up there, on the grassy slopes to the east - when the winds allow. Only climbers would think to approach on foot. The west flank, a wall of alpine dimensions, proves to be a barren abyss, especially in wet conditions: steep forest, loose grassy slopes, only right at the top is there pure rock. As long ago as 1985, the SAC section Merone built a small Via ferrata along the summit ridge. It has only recently been thoroughly renovated, but now offers a short and well secured, but quite stimulating steep hiking experience. It's easy to reach via the cog railway from Capolago on Lake Lugano across the Alp, whose name: Bellavista (meaning beautiful views) hints at what awaits up there. But its even more rewarding if you approach on foot. The panorama is indeed of exquisite beauty, it stretches in a wide arc from the Monviso to the Bergamo Alps, and extends south across the Po Valley to the Apennines. In the absence of smog or mist over Milan, you can even make out its gothic cathedral (with binoculars). The ferrata combines well with a traverse of the massif, on marked trails from Arogno to Muggio (about 7½ hours).