Ausoni Mountains in the context of "Monti Lepini"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Ausoni Mountains in the context of "Monti Lepini"




⭐ Core Definition: Ausoni Mountains

The Monti Ausoni or Ausoni Mountains constitute a mountain range in southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea. They are bounded to the north by the Monti Lepini and to the south by the Monti Aurunci. They take the name from the ancient tribe of the Ausoni. The Monti Ausoni consist mainly of friable limestone. Altitudes vary from hills to the 1,152 m of Cima del Nibbio and the 1,141 m of Monte Calvo. Near Pastena are the Grotte di Pastena (caves).

Part of the mountains is protected by a wilderness area, which was established in 1999. It covers 4,230 hectares. Most of the valleys are covered in forests (of oak, cork oak and maple). There are also species of Quercus virginiana, carpinella, aspen and laurel. Beneath the trees are numerous rare and endemic flora, such as Crocus imperati subsp. imperati, Narcissus Poeticus, Asphodeline lutea (asfodelina), Daphne oleoides (spatula daphne) and Iris relicta.

↓ Menu

In this Dossier

Ausoni Mountains in the context of Monti Aurunci

The Monti Aurunci (or Aurunci Mountains) is a mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it forms the promontory of Gaeta. It is bounded to the north-west by the Ausoni Mountains, to the north by the Liri river, to the east by the Ausente, to the south-east by the Garigliano and to the south by the Tyrrhenian sea. The line between the Aurunci and the Ausoni has not been clearly established but the Aurunci are considered by convention to be east of a line through Fondi, Lenola, Pico, S. Giovanni and Incarico. Altitudes vary from hills to the 1,533 m of Monte Petrella. Main peaks include the Redentore (1,252 m) and Monte Sant'Angelo (1,402 m). They include a regional park, the Parco Naturale dei Monti Aurunci, created in 1997.

The mountains take the name from the ancient tribe of the Aurunci, an offshoot of the Ausoni. Both tribes were derived from the Italic people who were called by the Romans the Volsci; hence, the Monti Lepini, the Monti Ausoni and the Monti Aurunci are also called the Volsci or Volscian Chain. Coincidentally they are all of the same karst topography and have the same orogeny, which is not quite the same as the Apennines proper.

↑ Return to Menu