The gulf from Monte Orlando

Here again the natural beauty blends with history and legend making the stopover a fascinating emotional experience. History attests that the huge grotto was used by Turkish pirates. According to the legend one of them did not believe that the rock had split at the death of Jesus so he touched the rock saying "If this is true, then let this rock may this rock melt under my hand." As he spoke, the rock melted and shaped the imprint of his hand.

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        Monte Orlando cliffs

Climbing further on Monte Orlando close to the top of the hill it is possible to see the entrance of Carolina powder magazine, one of the many military constructions erected during the Bourbons era. Near to the last structure, the Trabacco there are several places by the cliffs that drops straight to the sea where there is a marvelous view that ranges from the gulf to the Pontine Islands and as far as Ischia, another island close to Naples (to the south) and Sabaudia (to the north).

The fortification works were commissioned by Ferdinand the Catholic and terminated in about 1530 by Charles V, who ordered the construction of another imposing system of defensive walls still visible today behind the cliffs. The walls made the promontory practically unconquerable from the sea. Upon reaching the top of Monte Orlando, just slightly below the Roman mausoleum one found all these series of mysterious underground tunnels, stairs, and old, abandoned gun warehouses. They form a huge circle partly covered by the woodland around the top of the promontory. The wood here is dense and shadowy, dominated by evergreen oaks (Q. Ilex) with some sporadic Jerusalem pines and an undergrowth of myrtle, Cistus and Pistacia lentiscus. The scent of Mediterranean plants and wild herbs is nice and intense in the wood which is pleasantly cool even in the heat of the summer.

But the most ancient monument here is the Roman Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus. Plancus was an important man in the ancient Rome just before Jesus Christ birth. In fact, he was one of Julius Caesar's generals who died in 22 B.C. and was buried in this mausoleum. The mausoleum is the most complete Roman tomb of its type in the world. Massive and austere, it dominates your view as you finish your excursion to the top of the hill. It is amazing to think that the Mausoleum is preserved so well after enduring over twenty centuries of wars, invasions, raids and meteorological agent’s attacks.

Beside the entrance is a small ladder that leads to the top of the tomb where an entire panorama of Gaeta is possible. On a lucky day one might enjoy the sight of the pair of wild peregrine Falcons which live in the park nesting on the high cliffs over the sea. Their majestic flight high in the blue sky seems just to remark the myth and legends surrounding Monte Orlando. At the time of descending the ancient mountain the sunset has already begun with the last rays of the sun leaving the white sand of Serapo beach at the feet of the mountain. The famous and mythical Serapo Beach is located on the northern side at the base of the Split Mountain between the promontory of Monte Orlando and the Catena Hill.

This beach welcomes many local and foreign visitors each summer but it is in the other season when is empty that it equals the beauty and the charm of Mt Orlando. Even though it is not warm enough to swim, one is still able end a long, interesting journey between nature, history and legend by walking on the beach and enjoying the sound of the waves, the beautiful sky and the fine dunes on the sand shaped by the wind. And that’s where history ends and legend begins.