Editing Mount Circeo

{{Short description|Mountain in Italy}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name              = Mount Circeo
| other_name        = 
| photo             = Terracina-vista01.jpg
| photo_size        = 290
| photo_alt         = Mount Circeo as seen from [[Terracina]], Italy
| photo_caption     = Mount Circeo as seen from [[Terracina]], Italy
| elevation         = 
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| elevation_ft      = 
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| prominence_m      = 541
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| listing           = 
| range             = 
| parent_peak       = 
| location          = [[San Felice Circeo]], [[Lazio]], [[Italy]]
| map               = Italy
| map_alt           = 
| map_caption       = Italy
| map_size          = 
| label             = Mount Circeo
| label_position    = 
| coordinates       = {{coord|41.2333|N|13.05|E|type:mountain_region:IT_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| range_coordinates = 
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}}
[[File:Mt Circeo from Sabaudia Beach.jpg|thumb|right|290px|Mount Circeo as seen from the beach of dunes in Sabaudia, Italy.]]
[[File:Mt Circeo Torre Paola.jpg|thumb|290px|right|The [[Paola Tower]] at Sabaudia, a 16th-century watchtower built by will of [[Pope Pius IV]] at the west end of the promontory, guarding the canal.]]
[[File:Acropolis of Circeo and Sabaudia.jpg|thumb|290px|right|The Acropolis (High Place) of Mount Circeo as seen from the Ancient Tower Ruins with Sabaudia in the distance.]]

'''Monte Circeo''' or '''Cape Circeo''' ({{langx|it|Promontorio del Circeo}} {{IPA|it|promonˈtɔːrjo del tʃirˈtʃɛːo|}}, {{langx|la|Mons Circeius}}) is a mountain [[promontory]] that marks the southwestern limit of the former [[Pontine Marshes]], located on the southwest coast of [[Italy]] near [[San Felice Circeo]]. At the northern end of the [[Gulf of Gaeta]], it is about {{Convert|5|km|mi}} long by {{Convert|1.5|km|mi}} wide at the base, running from east to west and surrounded by the sea on all sides except the north. The land to the northeast is the former ancient [[Pontine Marshes]]. Most of the ancient swamp has been [[land reclamation|reclaimed]] for agriculture and urban areas. 

The mountain, the coastal zone as far north as [[Latina, Lazio|Latina]], including the only remaining remnant of the swamp, and two of the [[Pontine Islands]] offshore, [[Zannone]] and [[Ponza]], have been included in the [[Parco Nazionale del Circeo|Circeo National Park]].

==Geology==

Although a headland, it was not formed by [[coastal erosion]]&nbsp;– as headlands are usually formed&nbsp;– but is a remnant of the [[Orogeny|orogenic]] processes that created the [[Apennines]]. The entire coast of [[Lazio]], on which the mountain and the marsh are located, was a chain of [[barrier islands]] that was formed on a [[Horst (geology)|horst]] and made part of the mainland by sedimentation of the intervening [[graben]].

The mountain is composed mostly of [[marl]] and [[sandstone]] from the [[Paleogene]] and of [[limestone]] from the lower [[Early Jurassic]].

The mountain features several caves, including the [[Goats Cave]] and the [[Guattari Cave]].

==Prehistory==

In 1939, the skull of a [[Neanderthal]] man was found in the Guattari Cave by a team led by [[Alberto Carlo Blanc]]. Several other findings also show that the mountain was inhabited in prehistorical times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guattari Cave |url=https://www.nespos.org/display/PublicNesposSpace/Guattari+Cave |website=NESPOS - Pleistocene People and Places |access-date=9 January 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Guattari Cave - cranium |url=https://www.nespos.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=29887338 |website=NESPOS - Pleistocene People and Places |access-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109013236/https://www.nespos.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=29887338 |archive-date=9 January 2020}}</ref> In May 2021, the remains of 9 Neanderthal men were discovered in the same Guattari cave. The Minister of Culture in Italy declared the site to be one of the most significant in the world regarding the Neanderthal period.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.buzz-europa.com/2021/05/19/italie-restes-neuf-neandertaliens-decouverts/ Les restes de neuf Néandertaliens découverts dans une grotte en Italie], ''Buzz-europa.com'', 19 May 2021</ref><ref>Elisabetta Povoledo, [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/world/europe/italy-neanderthal-fossils-guattari-cave.html These Neanderthals Weren’t Cannibals, So Who Ate Them? Stone Age Hyenas.], ''Nytimes.com'', 8 May 2021</ref>

==History==
{{See|Circeii}}

==Today==

Mount Circeo is today included in the [[Circeo National Park]], established in 1934 on {{convert|5616|ha|km2 acre sqmi|lk=on|abbr=on}} over the territories of Latina, Sabaudia, San Felice Circeo and [[Zannone]] Island (minor island of [[Ponziane Archipelago]]).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Refbegin}}
* [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=it&sl=it&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanfelicecirceo.eu%2F Holiday, sea, places to visit]
* [http://www.parks.it/parco.nazionale.circeo/Epun.html At the site of the Circeo National Park]
* [http://www.circei.it/ Hystory and Legends]
{{Refend}}

{{Mountains of Lazio}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mountains of Lazio|Circeo]]
[[Category:Headlands of Italy|Circeo]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Italy|Circeo]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Tyrrhenian Sea]]
[[Category:Biosphere reserves of Italy]]
[[Category:Neanderthal sites]]
[[Category:Horsts (geology)]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Lazio]]