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Newsletter December 2009
The Ausoni Mountains in southern Lazio, Italy
Topic : Parks - Nature
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1. The Ausoni Mountains in southern Lazio, Italy
We continue our series of articles in unraveling the beauty of the South Pontino. Our last exploration reveals a territory of Bel Paese largely unknown to tourists and even to the majority of Italians: today our focus is on ‘The Ausoni Mountains’ in southern Lazio. Overlapping the provinces of Frosinone and Latina south of Rome, the Ausoni Mountains are one of the lesser known mountain ranges in Italy. Unfamiliar even to the locals surrounding Lazio, these mountains like the nearby Aurunci Mountains have been just as isolated and remote.
Their geographical and cultural isolation seems strange, almost paradoxical considering that these mountains are not more than 70 miles south of Rome and just half way between Naples and the eternal city. But at the heart of this territory lies inhospitable and rugged mountains with few access roads, far away from the main roads between Rome and Naples. It is not a matter of chance that the Ausoni and Aurunci Mountains were a favorite hiding place for some of the most famous outlaws and bandits of southern Italy.
Deep and jagged canyons, isolated peaks and concealed caves only reachable by mule trails enhanced the isolation of these mountains and of their villages settled among narrow valleys and steep hills. The stifling heat of the summer sun and the cold and snow of this territory in the winter discouraged large settlements leaving only small villages to populate this large territory south of Rome. Historically these mountain areas of south Lazio have been inhabited only by a small population sparsely settled in tiny villages, with only hunting, transhumant sheep-breeding and agriculture for their livelihood. Each of these few isolated hillside villages has a old medieval center that is unique for the history and, people who have inhabited the area for thousands of years, also for their rural culture and folklore.
Their name comes from the mysterious and ancient population of the Ausoni or Ausones. They were of Indo-European origins; the Ausones already existed in the Italian peninsula long before the early Romans around the 1600 years BC, at the beginning of the middle-bronze age. The Ausones or Ausoni were one of the most ancient
Italic tribes
settled and populating the southern part of the Italian peninsula. They were often associated and confused with the Aurunci, another primitive population living nearby with whom they share most likely only a common origin. At present, recent archaeological discoveries and theories classifies the Ausones and the Aurunci as two separate clans and cultures.
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The Ausones were one of the largest primitive tribes in Italy. They came into contact with the first Greek colonies who settled in southern Italy. Initially their territory was called Ausonia extending along the Mediterranean coastline from southern Lazio up to Calabria. In fact, some writers and poets over time defined the actual Tyrrhenian Sea as the ‘Mare Ausonio’ (Ausonian Sea). We know that their culture is an archaic one but there is a lack of well documented archeological artifacts or findings that furthers our understanding of this past pastoral civilization, adding to the mystery that surrounds their ethnology, embedded in ancient Rome’s myth and legends.
Historical sources, mostly Roman and Latin, present them as a population of remote origins who came to Italy since time immemorial. According to a legend told by Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian in the 1st century BC, the King of the Ausones was Ausonus, son of
Ulysses and Circe
.
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Today we only have a fragmented historical account and information on the ancient Ausones’. Around the 5th century BC the Ausones’ territory shrunk including only the southern areas of today’s Lazio region, their main cities formed a territorial alliance of five cities called the Pentapolis. The ancient cities were Ausona, Vescia-Sessa, Sinuessa, Veseris and Minturnae. The latter became an important
Roman colony
during the Roman expansion in southern Lazio.
A few historical sources seem to indicate that around the 4th century BC the Ausones and their cousins the Aurunci merged; they came in to contact with the powerful Romans openly fighting against their occupation and forming an alliance with the Romans age-old enemy the Samnites. This alliance proved to be both tragic and fatal: all five of the main Ausones and Aurunci cities were annihilated with extreme ferocity by the Romans after years of battles and bloody wars. After the destruction of the Pentapolis the descendants of the Ausones and Aurunci almost vanished from the annals of history leaving almost no trace other than a few findings and stories in the ancient Romans myths and legends.
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2. Ausoni Mountains: their geography
The Ausoni Mountains are a mountain range on the Preapennines in the Lazio region. Geologically the Ausoni, along with the Lepini and Aurunci Mountains constitute a single carbonate platform, known geographically as the backbone of the Volsci (Historically in trinity they were known as this until the beginning of the 1900s) which represents the extreme offshoot of the Lazio and Abruzzi Apennines.
Geographically the Ausoni northern borders are located between the Sacco river Valley and the Lepini Mountains. On the west it ends with the Agro Pontino (the Pontina plain), the famous plain in southern Lazio infested by malarial swamps healed after millennia of failed attempts with a complete Reclamation of the land in the 1930’s.
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Their mountains extend from the plain of the river Amaseno, dividing them from the Lepini Mountains to the line of four villages of Pastena, Lenola, Fondi and Monte San Biagio, they separate into the Ausoni and the Aurunci Mountains respectively. In the north-east the Ausoni line border are the Valle Latina and the south-east with the Tyrrhenian Sea reaching the seaside town of Terracina.
They stretch over some 380 square Km overlooking the eastern territories of the Pontine plain like guards whilst touching the sea with Mount Leano (676 m – 2218 feet) on the outskirts of Terracina. From here, the sky, the mountains and the vast space of the Pontine plain opens up to the horizon of the land, rich in history where the shadows of many centuries induces a contemplative calm. According to some authors the Ausoni Mountains represent the extreme southern offshoot of the Ciociaria territory. These are the mountains with only just a few villages tucked into the hills and verdant valleys about seventy miles south of Rome. There are only nine villages from the north to south: Priverno, Roccasecca dei Volsci, Castro dei Volsci and Amaseno (in the northern area), Sonnino (right in the middle), Vallecorsa, Pastena and Lenola (in the eastern area bordering the Aurunci Mountains) and finally Monte San Biagio (in the south with a gorgeous view overlooking the plain and the Lake of Fondi as well as the Tyrrhenian Sea).
From the morphological point of view the territory consists of mountain slopes distributed and shaped as an amphitheater with the predominant directions of the ridges north-northwest and south-southeast. The highest peaks are Cima del Nibbio (1152 m – 3780 ft ), Monte Calvo (1141 m – 3743 ft), Monte Calvilli (1116 m – 3661 ft), Monte Caruso (mt.1102 m – 3615 ft) and Monte Appiolo (1000 m – 3280 ft). One of the most famous peaks of the Ausoni Mountains is Monte delle Fate (1090 m – 3576 ft) for the sheer beauty of its surrounding landscape. This mountain is right in the heart of the Ausoni between the picturesque villages of Sonnino and Monte San Biagio.
The local valleys are not as large as in the Aurunci Mountains and are of limited extension, located mostly along the watercourses. The most important vales are around the hillside villages of Vallecorsa, Pastena and Castro dei Volsci along the Sacco River and also around Amaseno along the river with the same name of the village (Amaseno). The streams are almost exclusively torrential with deep and high slopes near their beginning and paths with low slopes downstream.
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On average the Ausoni Mountains are lower than the nearby Aurunci and not as close to the sea. These characteristics have not reduced the charming natural beauty and interest in these mountains, yet to be discovered by excursionists and virtually unknown even to Italian tourists. There are rather long distances from village to another and in some unpopulated areas the Ausoni is pretty wild. There are woods surrounding distant farms or villas here and there on the summits of green hills.
The spring produces wild orchids and the flowers here are spectacular. The areas exposed to the north are cooler with mixed forests that are interspersed with oak woods more frequently than on the sunnier and barren slopes towards the sea. The compact shape of these mountains and their proximity to the sea determine and influence the local climate, usually sunny and dry in summer and moderately temperate in winter with some snow’s sprinkles in colder days. The Ausoni flora has all the characteristics of the southern landscape including the oleaster and the lentiscus.
The Ausoni Mountains boasts the largest cork forest (Quercus suber) in Italy, one of the biggest in Europe extending over three hundred hectares in the area of Villa San Vito and Valle Martina near the village of Monte San Biagio. The cork forest is occupied by beautiful huge centenary old cork trees which are real monuments of natural beauty. In the north eastern Ausoni around the medieval village of Sonnino, still survives patches of ancient wild and dense forests that once sheltered road bandits infesting central Italy.
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3. Ausoni Mountains: the wildlife
Centuries of hunting have decreased the local fauna and these mountains are not as particularly rich in animal life as they used to be. However, environmentalists and increased protection are facilitating the slow recovery of some interesting species of wildlife which until the 1990s were in danger of gradual depletion. Today bird watching enthusiasts can enjoy the view of a good number of diurnal and nocturnal
birds of prey
like the Buzzard (Buteo buteo) , Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), Jackdawn (Corvus monedula), Barn owl (Tyto alba) Little owl (Athene noctua) and the Long eared owl (Asio otus) in search of their prey.
Among the beech forests 800-1200 meters high, the most common mammals are weasels (Mustela nivalis) and the elusive
wild cat
(Felis silvestris molisana, the Italian sub-species) found in the wildest and most remote areas of the Ausoni and Aurunci Mountains. Other, less shy species such as red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), wild boars (Sus scrofa), badgers (Meles meles), and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are found widespread in the rural areas closer to human presence.
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Much of the original landscape has transformed over the last fifty years. About 80% of what formerly was gentle and largely human-induced scenery of olive trees (Olea europea) cultivations have been abandoned and have been replaced naturally by wild vegetation. Colonization from surrounding native wild plants is recapturing back space from the old fields for other species of birds and small mammals. Distribution of grassland communities of perennial grass is now dominating vast territories replacing olive trees fields with dense steppe-like grasslands. Other interesting species commonly found in these new countryside and fields are the Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca), Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix italica), Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the Rock Pigeon (Columba livia).
Beautiful pastoral scenery is presented by all the domestic and semi-wild animals. They roam free in the park and outside sometimes crossing the roads. These include cows, sometimes black pigs, and more often than not goats and sheep. Many of the cattle’s breeding are still semi-wild according to old pastoral traditions, without much human intervention. The area around the Amaseno plain offers bucolic scenes of other times because the locals have gradually rediscovered and increased the breeding of water buffaloes for the production of the local renowned
buffalo mozzarella
. The buffalo mozzarella and ricotta are exceptional here in South Pontino. The entire area offer to visitors scenes of other times with herds of black buffalos roaming the countryside.
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4. Ausoni Mountains: a piece of undiscovered Italy
Upon reaching the sea, the Ausoni were for a millennia a real barrier to the development of coastal trade south of Terracina, until the Emperor Trajan (53 to 117 AD) decided to slice them up leaving a massive wall of rocks still visible today in the southern slopes of the Ausoni hills around the south exit from the town of
Terracina
. Trajan was building a section of the ancient Via Appia (Appian Way), the oldest road in history which allowed Rome to conquer the world. Trajan’s passage is still visible among the missing portion of the hill and it is known as the Pisco Montano. In Terracina the paved stone and the ancient side-walk of the section of the
ancient Via Appia
are still well preserved.
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There is real rural beauty in this territory in the northern area of the South Pontino, with local traditions still largely intact. During our first exploration we had the constant feeling of being accompanied by the long, ancient history of this land on our genuine discovery of the local ancient rural culture. The Romans used the Via Appia to reach Terracina with its ancient acropolis and temple. Terracina is still topped by the ruins of the great temple of Anxur dedicated to Zeus majestically overlooking the sea. The temple reminds us of the ancient history of the town, an important city of the ancient Volsci tribes who fought so bitterly against Roman domination in six century BC. In those ancient times anyone holding Terracina held the gate of the South Mediterranean Sea. This is the same sea that Ulysses describes in the oldest
Mediterranean legends
, very clear, of green and blue pastel shades that change with the changing sunlight at every moment. The rocky eminence of the ancient temple now rises fully seemingly advancing towards the sea; when you approach it exposes a variety of steep cliffs.
The entire history surrounding the Roman conquest of Southern Italy points onto this place, to this temple and acropolis more ancient than Rome itself. It is no exaggeration to claim that the Romans acquisition of the rest of the world began from this region of southern Lazio, key to their triumph a few centuries later. By looking at the sea from the ancient temple of Zeus you can conjure an image of the ancient priests of Anxur with their cultural cult practices now lost forever.
On the other side looking eastward your eyes meet the plain of Fondi, a rich agricultural area since ancient times which produced two among the very fine wines for the tables of the Roman Emperors: the red
Caecubus
and Fondanum.
The wines of this territory, of this coast of South Pontino, were traditionally in high demand, and have still enjoyed some of their historic reputation. The wine production business thrived, from the end of the 3rd(beginning of the 2nd century BC) up to the early Imperial Age and was largely appraised by past sources, confirmed by findings in large amounts of fragments of amphorae in the plain of Fondi around Canneto, Monte San Biagio and Torre St. Anastasia.
Today its natural and archaeological beauty is protected by both the newest Italian park established in 2008; the Park of Ausoni Mountains and the Fondi Lake. From henceforth it is possible to protect the wonderful Ausoni Mountains landscapes from the dreaded building speculation. The rare natural beauty and archaeological treasures proffered by the Ausoni Mountains can be enjoyed with respect of its nature for the joy and benefit of the future generation. Excursionists can use instructed paths with more than 20 official trails recognised by the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) the Italian Alpine Club or simply improvise discovering the more ancient net of shepherds’ paths. Here, unlike the Alps in north Italy, the mass hiking is not over subscribed as these mountains offer the rare feeling of solitude from crowds of other hikers or tourists. It’s just you and nature uninterrupted in silence and comfort. The only people you may encounter on these mountains are the local shepherds and their herds of cows, sheep and goats.
In the evening you can enjoy an excellent dinner sampling the local gastronomy in the small medieval villages on the Ausoni.
There is much to discover on the Ausoni Mountains. As similar as it is physically, culturally and geographically to the nearby Aurunci Mountains, there is much to be unraveled, a usual peculiarity experienced in Italy where every valley has a different tale and culture to communicate.
Old local traditions of the Ausoni Mountains are deeply rooted in the ancient history reflecting the very essence of this territory and its villagers, there is the gastronomy and so many other interesting places to discover. An expedition on this territory will be a joy for excursionists who enjoy hiking and are interested in the history of ancient Rome and Italy. Places seeped in important ancient events and the traditional local ways of life are located near the Mediterranean mountains close to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The rural natural beauty of the territory is invaluable as it has still preserved its old traditions providing a charming frame for this undiscovered corner of Italy largely perpetuated from human intervention, where nature exists in perfect harmony with the small communities.
How to get There :
BY CAR
On the main motorway between Rome and Naples one of the best way out is Ceprano or Pontecorvo but there are other intermediary exits between Frosinone and Cassino for the area between the Monti Ausoni and the Monti Aurunci (
Campodimele
, Lenola, Fondi).
Some other alternative roads run almost parallel between the Ausoni Mountains and the sea with side roads leading to the chosen destination:
• The SS 148 Pontina road entered via the G.R.A (Grande Raccordo Anulare), the main Rome Ring Road, to Terracina and, from here, on the SS 213 Flacca road to the gulf of Gaeta.
• The SS 7 Appia Way - entered also via the via the G.R.A; this runs a few kilometers from the hillside to Terracina from where it leads to Itri and Formia then, almost parallel to the coast, to Minturno up to the Garigliano River on border with Campania.
BY TRAIN
The main station in Rome and Naples, offer a regular service (one train per hour) to the South Pontino mountain area. The Ausoni Mountains can be easily accessed from the stations of Fossanova, Monte San Biagio, Fondi and Formia. A railway link with the Rome-Termini station operates approximately once each hour. The stations are linked to the towns by coaches.
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