Some dozen kilometres north of Rome, the Monte Soratte Nature Reserve includes the isolated range of Monte Soratte. Although the highest peak only reaches 691m, the tip of the mountain offers a view that ranges from Monte Terminillo to Monte Amiata, from Lake Bracciano to the Tyrrhenian coastline. The Karst nature of the range is demonstrated by the Meri, giant chasms long believed to be the gateway to the underworld, that open unexpectedly in the rock in the midst of a forest populated with a wealth of flora and fauna. The Cave of Santa Lucia, a cavity produced by Karst phenomena, gives the Reserve great value.
Demonstrating the site’s religious vocation, there are several hermitages in the reserve known from antiquity as the “sacred mountain”: San Silvestro was built in the 6th century over the ruins of a temple to Apollo, and Sant'Antonio, Santa Lucia, San Sebastiano and Santa Romana, despite neglect and abandonment, display notable characteristics of rock hermit architecture.
A number of tunnels were dug inside the mountain in 1937 to serve as an air raid shelter for high ranking officials of the Italian Army given its vicinity to the capital. During the Cold War, between 1967 and 1972, some of these tunnels were converted into nuclear shelters and bunkers for use by the government.
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