Mount San Giorgio, which is world-renowned for its spectacular fossil finds from the Triassic, lies on the southern shores of Lake Lugano. It has been a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site since 2003.

Two hundred and forty millions years ago there was a 100 metre-deep marine basin in south Ticino where Mount San Giorgio now stands. The conditions must have been ideal for the formation of fossils. Since the 19th century, thousands of very well preserved fish, invertebrate and reptile fossils have been found there. These are the relics of the Triassic, a very early period in the world’s history. Some of the discoveries are now on show in the fossil museum in Meride.

Mount San Giorgio was added to the list of UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites in 2003. It is definitely worth a visit, not just for the fossils. Its special Insubric flora is also fascinating. The Insubric climate is characterized by dry mild winters and damp warm summers with high precipitation intensity.

The characteristic Ticino villages built in the Lombardy Sottoceneri style are also worth seeing.

Nature reserves and landscape protection areas
A large part of this area is listed, inter alia, in the following federal inventories:

• Federal Inventory of Landscape and Natural Monuments of National Importance (BLN object no 1804 “Monte San Giorgio”)
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• Interactive map browser displaying the object included in the BLN (available in German and French)
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Other links

• All of the federal Swiss inventories can be displayed on an interactive map using this map browser (available in German and French)
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• Detailed information on the effects of outdoor sport and leisure activities on nature (available in German and French)
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• Additional information about the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Switzerland (in German and French)
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• Detailed tourism information (in Italian), including information on the fossil museum
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