The Monte Cetona is a mountain located in the southern

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

region of Italy.

Features

The mountain stands near the SE border of the

province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban area o ...

, and closes the long, hilly ridge which divides

val d'Orcia The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of Tuscany, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by picturesque towns and villages such as Pie ...

from

val di Chiana The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley is an alluvial valley of central Italy, lying on the territories of the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and the provinces of Perugia and Terni in Umbria. Geography The Val di Chiana is ...

. It belongs to the

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Cetona Cetona is a town and ''comune'' in the southern part province of Siena, Tuscany, in an area where Umbria and Lazio meet. The geographical elevation is between and the of Monte Cetona itself, at the base of which the town is situated at around ...

San Casciano dei Bagni San Casciano dei Bagni is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Geography San Casciano dei Bagni borders the following municipa ...

Radicofani Radicofani () is a ''comune'' in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located in the natural park of Val d'Orcia about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Radicofani borders the following municipalities: Ab ...

and

Sarteano Sarteano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Sarteano is particularly important from the historical point of view. Located betwe ...

. On its SW slopes is located the spring of the river

Orcia The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of Tuscany, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by picturesque towns and villages such as Pie ...

, while downstream of the mountain, South of the summit, stands the

lago di San Casciano Lago di San Casciano is a lake in the Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. At an elevation of 383 m, its surface area is 2 km². Geography The lake is located in south of the municipality of San Casciano dei Bagni, near the borders with Lazio a ...

. Not far from the summit there are several transmission masts whose broadcasts, due to

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

and isolation of the mountain, can reach the areas of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. The Monte Cetona belongs to a S.C.I. also named ''Monte Cetona'' (code IT5190012), which covers an area of 1604 ha.

Summit cross

On the mountain top stands a high

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

lic

summit cross A summit cross (german: Gipfelkreuz) is a cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or at least a weatherproof case. Various other form ...

, built in 1967. It was realised to replace smaller crosses settled there after the

II World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The realization of the project was promoted in 1965 by the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es of Diocese of Chiusi, after the return of the local bishop from Rome where he took part in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. It was officially inaugurated on October the 1st of the same year by

Brunetto Bucciarelli-Ducci Brunetto Bucciarelli-Ducci (18 June 1914 – 4 February 1994) was an Italian politician and magistrate. His name appears in the list of members of the P2 lodge found in Castiglion Fibocchi on 17 March 1981. Biography Bucciarelli-Ducci was bor ...

, former president of the Italian

Camera dei Deputati The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meani ...

. The lighting system was turned on for the first time June 29, 1968 at 9 o'clock in the evening, via radio control, by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. The cross is 10 metres wide, 15 metres high and its weight is 6.200

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

Geology

Both the slopes of Monte Cetona facing Val d'Orcia and Val di Chiana are covered by sands and clays up to about 800 metres of elevation. In the uppermost part of the mountain emerges the rocky substrate of a

Karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ic origin. The summit is partially made of

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. North of it some

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s can be found. Among them are well known the ''Grotte del Belvedere'' (''Belvedere caves''), opened into the

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

and that were frequented by human beings during the

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

Access to the summit

The summit of Monte Cetona can be reached following several

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

itineraries. Can be mentioned the one starting from Camporsevoli (a small village in the comune of

), which crosses the Valle Saccaia (''Sacciaia Valley'') and then climbs the Southern ridge up to the summit, and the one starting from Fonte Vetriana, on the W slopes of the mountain.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cetona Mountains of Tuscany One-thousanders of Italy