When I first thought about creating this post, I thought of it mostly as a way to showcase the vario

Corno Grande, at 2,912 metres, is the highest peak in the Apennines... And there are much higher mountains in the Italian Alps, but no Italian mountain, other than perhaps Vesuvius, commands my attention or demands my respect the way Monte Soratte does.
It is easy to see how Soratte exotic car rentals in toronto became the object exotic car rentals in toronto of ancient veneration. Monte Soratte is a mountain island, the lone major elevation in the Tiber valley, a true landmark, visible for miles around. The way the rays of the setting sun plays upon its slopes...
Later on Soratte with its many caves became a refuge for Christian hermit monks. Legend has it that Pope Sylvester I took refuge here during a persecution under Emperor Constantine. The sixth century exotic car rentals in toronto Hermitage of Saint Sylvester, built on the remains of a temple exotic car rentals in toronto of Apollo commemorates exotic car rentals in toronto this event.
Attesting to Monte Soratte's continued veneration are a number of important religious festivals and sagre associated with these shrines, including the Festa della Madonna di Maggio, famous for its torchlight processions.
Perhaps another aspect of Monte Soratte that added to its mysterious allure to ancient peoples were its many pits and caves created by karst erosion. These pits called meri can reach a depth of 115 metres. It was perhaps this ready-made honeycomb of caves along with its proximity to Rome that led the Fascist exotic car rentals in toronto authorities in 1937 to begin construction of a series of tunnels and bunkers that were to serve as a refuge to the supreme command of the Italian army in case of war.
The bunkers on Monte Soratte were used during WWII as the headquarters of Nazi Field Marshall Kesselring after he was forced to leave his former headquarters in Frascati. Legend has it that the Nazi's hid a huge treasure in one of the caves under Monte Soratte which to this day has not been recovered.
During the Cold War part of the same cave and tunnel system used by the Fascists and the Nazi's was refitted as an Atomic bunker to house the Italian government but this work was never completed. Who knows why the project was stopped, but then again, perhaps they dug down deep enough, found what they were looking for and...
Apparantly tours of the bunkers are available from time to time. In the meantime, sunsets over Soratte exotic car rentals in toronto are truly spectacular, exotic car rentals in toronto as radiant as the lost Nazi gold that perhaps still lies under the mountain, waiting to be found.
For those of you who can read Italian and who enjoy historical fantasy fiction, Marco Borsi, who you will read about in a later post about our visit to Cottanello earlier this year, has written an very interesting book that touches on the legends associated with Monte Soratte and the ancient gods called I Primi Altari (the First Altars).
When I first thought about creating this post, I thought of it mostly as a way to showcase the various amazing images of Monte Soratte taken by, and kindly shared by, my Italian friends... I think I have done that, and I am glad this has turned into something a little more...
I do indeed love Soratte. The next time we visit the Sabina, I hope we can take a day trip with our friends and visit Sant'Oreste, the little village near the southern peak... And then there is that gold...
Excellent post on one of my favourite mountains! I love it up there. Look one way and you can see the Gran Sasso, look another you can see St. Peter s in the Vatican, look another and it s lago di Bolsena. Stunning, and so close to Rome as well. Reply Delete James Johnstone 10 June 2013 at 11:43
Thanks so much for reading this post and for your comment. We can t wait to visit next time we are in Italy. Unfortunately, the day we planned to go to Sant Oreste it was raining heavily so we had to call it off. Reply Delete Add comment Load more...
This blog is about a love affair I have with a still little known and underappreciated part of Italy, the Sabina. Situated largely in the Province of Rieti to the northeast of Rome, the Sabina has its roots in the ancient Sabine people who lived in the area from before the time of the Romans and ultimately merged with the Romans in Republican times. Ever in the shadow of Rome, during the Renaissance the Sabina was part of the Papal States and therefore never achieved the high profile and name recognition that other independent city states, principalities and regions did in that period. Some of my friends from Sabina lament the fact that few of their fellow Italians know about the Sabina. It is no wonder then that it is not that well known abroad. My partner and I stumbled on the Sabina when we were looking for a quiet, less-travelled part of Italy to stay in during a trip there in 2009. Since that first fateful trip a few years back our connection to and love for this fascinating region has grown deeper through the personal exotic car rentals in toronto relationships we have made with some very special people there. You can complain all you want about Facebook but I am here to tell you that Facebook and the connections we made with people in the region through Facebook before our second trip to the region has changed our lives forever. Over the next while I will share a number of stories about our recent exotic car rentals in toronto visit to this truly spectacular exotic car rentals in toronto part of Italy and introduce you to not only some amazing places, things to see, do, taste and eat, but also some pretty amazing people. I would like to thank our friends Alessandra Finiti and Giorgio Clementi for allowing exotic car rentals in toronto me to use their spectacular photos of the region. I am deeply indepted to them and to Signor Fiorenzo Francioli, Proloco of Montebuono and the best tour guide you could ever ask for, Stefano Aperio Bella, owner of Casperia's Friends Caffe and pioneer founder of A.S.E.T. Casperia, an organization that provides visitors with cave exploring experiences. I would also like to thank our dear friend Nicoleta Stoichescu, who along with Stefano, guided my partner Richard and I on our first cave exploration at Grotta Grande di Monteleone Sabino. I would also like to thank our dear friend and Casperia native Clelia Angelelli who by reaching out to me through Facebook introduced both me and my partner to a host of amazing friends, and enriched our lives forever. exotic car rentals in toronto Siamo fieri locandieri! And a heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to Chris and Meg Phillips whose own Italian dream made all this possible. Grazie infinite! Alla famiglia!
Though my educational background has a focus on Asia, and my former work life focussed on Japanese tourism to Canada, for the past twelve years I have worked researching the history of close to 900 houses in Vancouver, exotic car rentals in toronto and 40 in New Westminster.
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