Monte Cavo, or less occasionally, "Monte Albano," is the second highest mountain of the complex of the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

, near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. An old volcano extinguished around 10,000 years ago, it lies about from the sea, in the territory of the ''comune'' of

Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa (Roman Castles Romanesco: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is close to the other communes of Velletri ...

. It is the dominant peak of the Alban Hills. The current name comes from ''Cabum'', an Italic settlement existing on this mountain. Volcanic activity under King

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, believ ...

on the site was reported by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

in his book of Roman history: "...there had been a shower of stones on the Alban Mount...".

Jupiter Latiaris

Monte Cavo is the sacred ''Mons Albanus'' of the

Italic people The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...

of ancient Italy who lived in

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...

(the Albani), and other cities, and therefore a

sacred mountain Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

to the Romans; there they built the temple of

Jove Jupiter ( la, Iūpiter or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus " sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( gen. ''Iovis'' ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religio ...

(Jupiter) Latiaris, one of the most important destinations of pilgrimage for all Latin people in the centuries of Roman domination. On the ''Mons Albanus'', between January and March, the "Latin Festivals" were held. The newly chosen Consuls had to sacrifice to Jupiter Latiaris and to announce the Latin Holidays. When the Consul obtained a victory in war he also had to celebrate the triumph on the Alban Mount. Here in the Latium temple were celebrated every year the ''

Feriae Latinae The ''Feriae Latinae'' or Latin Festival was an ancient Roman religious festival held in April on the Alban Mount. The date varied, and was determined and announced by the consuls each year when they took office. It was one of the most ancient fe ...

'' for four days by the representatives of 47 cities (30 Latin and 17 Federate). In 531 BC, King

Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known a ...

built here a temple shared with the Latins, the

Hernici The Hernici were an Italic tribe of ancient Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Fucine Lake and the Sacco River (''Trerus''), bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north. For many years of the earl ...

and the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, where every year celebrations in honor of Jupiter Latiaris were held. In return, Jupiter Latiaris conferred upon whoever was elected head of the Latin confederation, the power of ''dictator latinus''. A triumphal procession along this sacred way left the Appian Way at

Ariccia Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. On ...

and climbed up 450 m to the hillside. More than 5 km of this way is well preserved through the woods.

Ancient temple, hermitage, hotel, station

The history of the temple of ''Iuppiter Latiaris'' was interrupted in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, when a hermitage devoted to

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

which replaced the pagan temple was built by a Dalmatian hermit. It was visited by

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

in 1463, and subsequently by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

. After the Dalmatian hermits the Polish religious order of Edmondo of Buisson was established there, then the Trinitarian Spaniards, and finally the Flemish Missionaries. Then the hermitage was converted to a monastery (1727). The

Passionist The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and de ...

s came in 1758 and restored it in 1783, using the materials of the temple of Jupiter, as found and raised by Henry Benedict Stuart, Duke of York,

bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the are ...

. During this period there were guests in the monastery: the king Francis II of Naples in 1865 and

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1867. The "contemplative-missionaries" abandoned the monastery in 1889. In 1890 the structure was converted to a hotel that entertained national and international personalities, among others:

Umberto II of Italy en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , dea ...

, Massimo d'Azeglio,

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

Armando Diaz Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...

(who sojourned in

and was remembered with a commemorative headstone mail in the residence on De Rossi palace) and the King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

with his wife

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

. From 1942 the hotel was used as military base for radio communications by the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. On June 3, 1944, soldiers of 142nd Regiment-

36th Infantry Division (United States) The 36th Infantry Division ("Arrowhead"), also known as the "Panther Division", "Lone Star Division",''National Archives and Records Administrations'' of College Park, MD, USA (signature:Record Group 407, Entry 427, File 334-INF(142)-0.3)—with 20 enemy soldiers killed and 30 prisoners taken.

References

Bibliography

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

Geographica (Strabo) The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman E ...

book V chapter 3 - Rome 20 BC *

Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...

, ''Archaic Roman Religion'' * T.J. Cornell - The beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to Punic War - London 1995 - *

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

Book I cap. 31
Ab Urbe Condita (Latin)
*

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

: The Roman Antiquities

External links

Cassius Dio, ''Roman History''
(English translation on LacusCurtius)

(at LacusCurtius)
{{Authority control

Cavo Cavo is an American hard rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Because of their sound and musical influences, they are sometimes classified as post-grunge. Band history In late 2000, guitarist Chris Hobbs, bassist Ryan Kemp, and drummer Chad ...

Italic religion Ancient Italian history Archaeological sites in Lazio Ancient Roman temples Alba Longa