The Herean Mountains (also influenced by Italian as ''Erean'') ( scn, Munti Erei; it, Monti Erei; la, Heraei montes) are a mountain chain in central

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

, southern

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 ...

, mostly located in the central and northern areas of the

province of Enna Enna ( it, Provincia di Enna; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It was created in 1927, out of parts of the Provinces of Caltanise ...

. The highest peak is the

Monte Altesina Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

, at 1,192 m above sea level.

Description

The Herean Mountains are 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 ...

origin, and do not reach high altitudes. Their area was once one of the most important in the world for the production of

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

, as testified today by numerous mineral quarries, the largest being that of Floristella-Grottacalda. There are several lakes in the mountain group, such as

Pergusa Lake Lake Pergusa (''Pergoussa'', Πυργούσσα in Ancient Greek) is a lake in Sicily, set between a group of mountains in the Erean Mountains chain near Pergusa, 5 km from Enna, Italy. It is a vital stop in the migratory trajectory of a great ...

, whose rich bird life has given it the status of being the first special Natural Reserve in Sicily, and

Pozzillo Lake Pozzillo Lake is a lake in the Province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. Located in the Erean Mountains chain, it is the largest artificial basin in the island. The lake is located mostly in the comune of Regalbuto, but also partially in Agira ...

, the largest artificial basin on the island. Due to the rugged landscape, the population totals less than 200,000 and thus the area's population density is lower. The chain is home to the largest Italian city above 900 m altitude (and the largest provincial capital in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

at that altitude as well),

Enna Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...

, which is home more or less to one-sixth of the whole Herean population. The mountain chain is crossed by a motorway, A19

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, and by a railroad running in the same direction. Most of the remaining roads wind and curve extensively through the terrain due to its rugged and geologically unstable nature.

Main sights

*Enna *

Piazza Armerina Piazza Armerina (Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. History The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) developed d ...

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

Morgantina Morgantina (Μοργάντιον / Μοργαντίνη in ancient greek) is an archaeological site in east central Sicily, southern Italy. It is sixty kilometres from the coast of the Ionian Sea, in the province of Enna. The closest modern ...

Villa del Casale The Villa Romana del Casale ( Sicilian: ''Villa Rumana dû Casali'') is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed one of the richest, largest, and varied ...

*Roman archaeological area of

Centuripe Centuripe (Latin: Centuripae; Sicilian: Centorbi) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Enna (Sicily, southern Italy). The city is from Enna in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. The economy is mostly based on agricu ...

{{coord, 37.4167, N, 14.35, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Mountains of Sicily Herean Mountains