Soratte Mountain Reserve

The summit of Soratte Mountain stands out lonely among the Roman Tuscia hills, protagonist of 410 hectares of Soratte Mountain Natural Reserve. In ancient times, when all the surrounding areas were invaded by sea water, the mountain turned into an island.

Today it is still surrounded by sands and clays, formed by marine sediments, as a proof of that period. Fascinating and mysterious place, Soratte has always been a place of worship, where pre-Roman people worshiped Sun God, Apollo. Romans built a temple for this divinity, today disappeared. This religious vocation continued in the Middle Age as well, so that the mountain became seat of a Christian temple and of many medieval hermitages, where, according to tradition, Constantine Emperor was baptized. An historical – monumental walk allows to follow the history of these hermitages, located on the slopes of that Mountain that the Latin poet Horace defined “clear and white”, because it was covered by snow. The mainly limestone formation of Soratte, has created about twelve caves and huge karsts, called “Meri”, that the popular belief has identified as the doors to the underworld. Vegetation, extremely various, is made of deciduous (hornbeam hedge, ash tree, maple) in cold slopes and of maquis in more exposed slopes. If foxes, squirrels, hazel dormouse, hedgehogs and moles populate the brushwood, there are many birds as well (sedentary or migratory), such as buzzard, kestrel, tawny owl, owls and others. The Reserve offers many unique chances: hiking along the hermitages route, caving explorations, paragliding adventures for flight lovers or easy rides by mountain bike.

Information
Via Tiburtina, 691 – 00159 Roma
Phone 06/67663301
Fax 06/43562126
montesoratte@tiscalinet.it
www.parchilazio.it