Monte Soratte
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Monte Soratte (ancient: Soracte) is a mountain ridge in the province of Rome, Italy. It is a narrow, isolated limestone ridge with a length of 5.5 km and six peaks. It is located some 10 km south east of Civita Castellana and c. 45 km north to Rome, and is the sole notable ridge in the Tiber Valley. The nearest settlement is the village of Sant'Oreste. Saint Orestes or Edistus, after whom the settlement is named, is said to have been martyred near Monte Soratte.
The highest summit is 691 m above sea-level. The ridge is part of a Natural Reserve housing a variety of vegetation and fauna. It is also characterized by the so-called Meri, pits which can be up to 115 m-deep.
[edit] History and sights
The area was used by the ancient Italic tribes of the area (Sabines, Capenates, Faliscans and Etruscans) for cult of the God Soranus. Mount Soratte was mentioned by Horace ("vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte?" Carm. i. 9), and Virgil, who mentions Apollo as its guardian deity; and in reality it was sacred to Dis Pater and the gods of the lower world.
Just below of the peak was once is the hermitage of St. Sylvester. According to a legend, its church was founded by Pope Sylvester, who had taken refuge here to escape Constantine's persecution. The church houses 14th and 15th centuries frescoes. The ridge houses other four hermitages.
The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie was built here in 1835 over a pre-existing 16th century edifice. It is home to a once highly venerated image of the Madonna.
[edit] Trivia
Mount Soratte was also nicknamed "Mount of Mussolini", as its profile, if seen from Magliano Sabina, recalls that of the former Italian duce with the helmet.
