Mt Orlando nature and archaeology

On Mt. Orlando’s time and human history have left lasting traces which never miss to attract and arouse the curiosity of visitors. Everyone in the area knows that Gaeta was in the past a famous fortress and played an essential role in the southern Kingdom of Naples. The fortress is still there and is the main landmark of urban Gaeta occupying the west side o the hill. On arrival at the Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, the journey begins with a visit to the Cleft Mountain, a breathtaking cut that divides the limestone rock of the promontory

into two, reaching down the sea level, and which local tradition attributes to the earthquake that shook the earth when Christ passed away on the cross. The terrace of the sanctuary offers a beautiful view over Serapo beach, and the view includes the vaults of Villa of L.M. Plancus and the reservoir high up in the park on top of Mt Orlando .

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The Turk’s Grotto is another impressive places to visit before climbing the hill. It is an extraordinary natural cavity in the rock where the sea waves break in with all their power creating a strong echo inside the grotto. There are 270 steps to descend and ascend, but the effort is more than compensated for by the unique, amazing view of the sea penetrating inside the mountain over the sea. From there visitors can go down into the cleft and observe an ancient inscription drawing attention to the handprint left in the rock by an incredulous and unknown Turkish sailor, maybe a pirate.

Leaving the Turk’s Grotto several paths will climb Mt Orlando through the park’s unique Mediterranean wood. Large number of trees of value for military construction were planted during different ages, and in time, became one with the local natural vegetation. The trees planted were mainly oaks and pines from elsewhere. The Bourbons alone planted over 40,000 trees, mainly oaks and pines from elsewhere, changing the natural population but contributing to create a beautiful example of fine Mediterranean woodland.

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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. Some of the beautiful wild flowers species found on Mt Orlando are the same of those found on the nearby Aurunci Mountains . The ruins of many fortifications are partially or totally covering many of the hill old fortifications built during centuries of history.

Important 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 on the beautiful Gulf of Gaeta.

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