Mount Soratte

Monte Soratte is a solitary limestone peak rising 691 metres above the Tiber valley, 52 km north of Rome. Its striking silhouette inspired Horace, who immortalised it in the Odes with the line 'Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte'. Six medieval hermitages cling to its ridges, the best preserved being San Silvestro, occupied by Benedictines until the 18th century. During WWII Field Marshal Kesselring carved an enormous bunker complex into the mountain; later it served as a NATO nuclear shelter. Marked trails today wind through oak forest to the hermitages and the summit, opening views as far as the Apennines. The bunkers are accessible on weekends through guided tours run by the Bunker Soratte association. Spring is the best season, when the broom blooms yellow across the slopes and migrating birds rest on the limestone cliffs.