Mount Pellegrino
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Mount Pellegrino (Italian: Monte Pellegrino; Sicilian: Munti Piddirinu) is an isolated carbonate rock promontory on the northern coast of Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. It has an altitude of 606 meters (1,988 ft) above sea level, making it the highest peak within the city perimeter; however, due to its low height it is generally compared to a hill. It extends towards the Tyrrhenian Sea, closes the Gulf of Palermo to the north, and marks the eastern border of the bay of Mondello. Being visible from all the areas on which the city stands, the promontory is one of its most represented symbols.[1] In 1992, Mount Pellegrino been identified as a Special Area of Conservation by the European Commission[2] due to the fossil finds, the presence of a notable endemism,[3] and the historical finds, which include the Paleolithic graffiti of the Addaura cave, one of the few finds of rock art in the Mediterranean area. From 1996, it is the heart of the natural reserve of the same name, which extends for 1,050 hectares (2594,607 acres).
Mount Pellegrino is a very important area regarding both religious and cultural traditions of Palermo.[4] The Phoenician settlers who founded the city between the 8th and the 7th century BC considered it a sacred place and established a sanctuary there for the goddess of fertility Tanit.[5] In medieval times it became a destination for christian hermit monks. Furthermore, it is home to the Sanctuary of Saint Rosalia, venerating the patron saint of Palermo who died in a cave on the top of the promontory in the 12th century.[6]
In the 18th century, the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described Mount Pellegrino as the most beautiful promontory in the world in his book Italian Journey. Goethe was particularly impressed by the Palermo cult of Saint Rosalia, and once he visited the top of the mountain, where the cave-sanctuary stands, he was struck by its beauty and noted that perhaps all of Christianity "has no other sanctuary that is decorated and venerated in a more naive and moving way".[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mount Pellegrino". Italia.it. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "La Riserva – Riserva Monte Pellegrino" (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-07-06. [Following the establishment of the Reserve, pursuant to Directive 92/43/EEC, Mount Pellegrino was identified as a SIC (Site of Community Interest) with the code ITA020014. Furthermore, with a Decree of the Ministry of the Environment of 21/12/2015 it was elevated to a Special Conservation Zone.]
- ^ Bertolini, Vincenzo; Damon, Anne; Valle Mora, Javier; Natanael, Angel; Velásquez, Rojas. "Distribution and ecological patterns of orchids in Monte Pellegrino Reserve, Palermo (Sicily, Italy)" (PDF).
- ^ "Monte Pellegrino and its sanctuary | Wonderful Italy". wonderfulitaly.eu. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "L'altare punico al Monte Pellegrino" [The Punic Altar at Mount Pellegrino]. Santuario di Santa Rosalia (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-07-06. [It was undoubtedly the seat of the ancient cult of Tanit, the Punic goddess of fertility, and of other cults that were from time to time absorbed into the Christian-hermitic religious sphere.]
- ^ "The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia - Palermo". ilfestinodisantarosalia.it. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ Cassaro, Vincenzo Roberto (2020-07-13). "Il viaggio di Goethe in Sicilia, tra splendore e orrore". ilSicilia.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-07-06. [The Palermo cult of Santa Rosalia deeply impressed the German writer. Thus, he went to Mount Pellegrino and was struck by the beauty of its shape and, having reached the top of the peak, he visited the cave-sanctuary, where the bones of the saint had been found in 1624, noting that "perhaps all of Christianity [...] has no other sanctuary that is decorated and venerated in a more naive and moving way".]
- Fabbri, Patrizia (2005). Palermo e Monreale. Florence: Bonechi.
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38°10′N 13°21′E / 38.167°N 13.350°E
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