Monte Kronio, or ''Monte San Calogero'', is a hill about 7 km from

Sciacca Sciacca (; Greek language, Greek: ; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has vi ...

, a

comune 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 ...

of the province of Agrigento in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Description

With a height of 395.48 metres, the hill is composed mostly of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. It is a nature reserve administered by the state forestry agency of the Regione Siciliana. On the mountain is the "Sanctuary of San Calogero," from the 16th century, the Antiquarium and various natural caves which emit geothermal gas, the most well-known of which is the so-called "Stove of San Calogero." Iscrizione

The vast area behind the settlement of Sciacca, which culminates in Monte Kronio, may be the site of an ancient volcano, which even today shows some activity, however slight, through the emission of sulphur vapours. This theory is supported by the presence of

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...

off the coast, a volcanic island forming part of a wider "Empedoclean" system, so it cannot be ruled out that Monte Kronio was a vent of a larger volcanic system in the distant past.

Antiquarium of Monte Kronio

On the mountain there is the "Antiquarium di Monte Kronio - Stufe di S. Calogero" museum, a thermal complex and a series of

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 ...

caves which were used for health purposes in antiquity. The antiquarium was established in the 1980s and contains discoveries from local excavations. The site is managed by the

Soprintendenza The Ministry of Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura - MiC) is the ministry of the Government of Italy in charge of national museums and the ''monuments historiques''. MiC's headquarters are located in the historic Collegio Romano Palace (via ...

of cultural heritage for Agrigento.

The "Stove of San Calogero"

The cave with this name is 9.4 metres long and 4.2 metres wide and reaches a maximum height of c. 4 metres. Inside the temperature varies between 36 and 42

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...

, depending on the season and time of day. Because of the high temperature, people once spent time in the cave, which was created by

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...

in the territory of the

Sicans The Sicani (Ancient Greek Σῐκᾱνοί ''Sikānoí'') or Sicanians were one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization. The Sicani dwelt east of the Elymians and west of the Sicels, having, ...

according to legend, as a cure for

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, and sciatica. Seats, benches and drilled holes into which effected limbs must have been inserted were carved in the interior walls. Following a survey carried out in 1880 by professor Silvestro Zinno on behalf of the comunale council of Sciacca, the comune proposed to turn this into a spa.

Sanctuary of San Calogero

File:Santuario.jpeg, The basilica sanctuary of San Calogero File:Chiesa.jpeg, Some pilgrims at the sanctuary The basilica sanctuary of San Calogero was built in 1530 and belonged to the

Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis ( la, Tertius Ordo Regularis Sancti Francisci) is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The mem ...

from 1948.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

raised it to the status of a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in 1979. It contains a statue of the saint, made by

Antonello Gagini Antonello Gagini (1478–1536) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria. Antonello belonged to a family of sculptors and artisans, originally from Northern Italy, but active throughout Italy, including Gen ...

Ancient winemaking

In 2012

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

jars dating from the fourth millennium BC were found in a cave on Monte Kronio. Organic samples taken from the jars proved to contain

tartaric acid Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes, but also in bananas, tamarinds, and citrus. Its salt, potassium bitartrate, commonly known as cream of tartar, develops naturally i ...

and its salt, confirming the use of the vessel as wine containers. The site is the location of one of the earliest known evidences of

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

, dating back 6000 years, a similar age to the evidence from Areni in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.parks.it/riserva.monte.s.calogero-Kronio/, title=RNO Monte Kronio Kronio Sciacca Caves of Italy Archaeological sites in the province of Agrigento