| Punta Lunella | |
| Listing: | Alpine mountains 2500-2999 m |
| Elevation M: | 2772 |
| Map: | Alps |
| Label Position: | left |
| Coordinates: | 45.1962°N 7.218°W |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence M: | 471 |
| Prominence Ref: | [2] |
| Location: | Province of Turin, Italy |
| Range: | Graian Alps |
| First Ascent: | 23 June 1873; Martino Baretti with the guide Giuseppe Cibrario[3] |
| Easiest Route: | hiking/scrambling from Colle del Colombardo or Niquidetto |
The Punta Lunella is a mountain of the Graian Alps, with an elevation of 2,772 m.[4]
In 1831 the mountain was named Punta Cruvin by the topographer Maggi after a nearby mountain pastures, "Alpe Cruvin". In the 1845 release of the Kingdom of Sardinia chart the mountain appears as Punta di Cruvin, while a toponym Punta Lunel (also derived by the name of a mountain pasture) was applied to a lesser summit between the present-day Punta Lunella (2,772 m) and the Grand'Uja (2,666 m). On the following editions of the national topographic map the name Lunella (in the forms of La Lunella or Punta Lunella) is permanently given to the 2,772 m mountain summit.[5]
The mountain is located on the ridge dividing Val Susa (South) from Val di Viù, and stands on the border between the comunes of Viù and Lemie (both in the Metropolitan City of Turin). Toward SE a mountain pass named Colle della Forcola (2,480 m) divides Punta Lunella from Rocca Maritano, while the main ridge goes West heading to the Rocciamelone.
In the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) subdivision of Alps the mountain, along with Monte Arpone, gives its name to the Alpine subgroup Cresta Lunella-Arpone (code = I/B-7.I-A.2.b).[6]
The easiest route for the summit is a footpath starting from the Prarotto chapel,[7] a small isolated church in the comune of Condove (Susa Valley). A second route, slightly harder and which needs some scrambling, starts from Pian Benot, a small sky resort in the Viù Valley.[8]