Sasso di Simone
| Sasso di Simone | |
|---|---|
 View of the rocky cliff | |
| Geography | |
| State/Province | Template:IT-TOS |
| Parent range | Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines |
The Sasso di Simone is a massive block of calcareous rock[1] that rises like a regular parallelepiped from the mountains of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines, reaching an altitude of 1,204 m (3,950 ft) a.s.l.[2] and dominating the Montefeltro region. Today, it falls within the Sasso di Simone Nature Reserve between the Province of Arezzo (municipality of Sestino) and the Province of Pesaro and Urbino (municipality of Carpegna).
History
Formed from Tertiary marine sediments, deposited in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, it is a fragment of the Apennine rocky folds that, emerging from the sea and shifting from west to east, gradually fragmented and are now found in outcrops along the entire Apennine chain, from the Casentino to Monte Fumaiolo and up to the Adriatic Sea, ending to the north with the cliff of Monte Titano in San Marino.
According to an 18th-century chronicler, from its summit, it was possible to see the Adriatic coast from Venice to Ancona, the Dalmatian mountains, and the Trentino Alps.[3] Its name is believed to originate from an eremite from the East, called Simone, who established his isolated spiritual dwelling here. As evidenced by artifacts found on the plateau, the Sasso was frequented since the Bronze Age.
Città del Sole
I came here to Mugello, where I gave instructions for what needs to be done in my absence, and from here I will go to Terra del Sole and Sasso di Simone, with the intention of not leaving until everything is completed, so that Your Serene Highness will not be troubled... And in any case, I will not fail to frequently visit the Sasso and there (Terra del Sole), so that both these constructions will be completed this year, provided Your Serene Highness assigns the necessary provisions to those responsible
— letter from Simone Genga to Grand Duke Francesco de' Medici in July 1577
Sasso di Simone was chosen by Cosimo I in 1565 as part of a political plan to defend and strengthen the state of Florence to build a city-fortress that would be called Città del Sole,[4] a toponym similar to that of Terra del Sole, the other Medici city-fortress built in the Romagnolo territory. Indeed, Sasso di Simone represented a strategic node of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in opposition to the castle of San Leo in Montefeltro. Designed by architects Giovanni Camerini and Simone Genga, it was used for nearly a century in its dual role as both a military and civilian city; however, due to adverse natural conditions and changing political circumstances, its construction was not completed, and the city was definitively abandoned by the end of the 17th century. Only a paved road and some ruins remain today as testimony to the ambitious settlement.
Protected natural areas
Together with Monte Simoncello, it forms the Parco naturale regionale del Sasso Simone e Simoncello and is part of two SICs: Sasso Simone e Simoncello (IT5180008) and Monti Sasso Simone e Simoncello (IT5310003), respectively covering 1665 ha and 1190 ha.[5]
The Sasso di Simone is also protected by another natural protected area, the Sasso di Simone Nature Reserve, a provincial reserve entirely within the Province of Arezzo, in Tuscany. The reserve was established in 1996 and covers an area of 1,604 ha.[6]
Flora
The flora of Sasso di Simone consists of forests (of the Mediterranean-montane type), pastures, meadows, shrubby grasslands, and thickets. The forests are primarily composed of white hornbeam, black hornbeam, and Turkey oak, covering approximately 800 hectares. Also present are maple, holly, beech, ash, hazel, service tree, whitebeam, and yew. In the undergrowth, wild ginger and mountain cornflower grow. On the summit grasslands, it is not uncommon to find the orange lily.
Fauna
Mammals ungulates: fallow deer, roe deer, wild boar.
Mammals carnivores: wolf, fox, badger, weasel, stone marten, polecat.
Mammals rodents: dormouse, squirrel, wood mouse, water vole, fat dormouse, porcupine.
Mammals eulipotyphlans: shrew, hedgehog, lesser white-toothed shrew, bicolored shrew, common mole.
Other mammals include the Appennine hare and several species of bats.
Amphibians: crested newt and smooth newt, red frog and green frog, tree frog, common toad, cave salamander, spotted salamander.
Reptiles: asp viper, green whip snake, Aesculapian snake, barred grass snake, wall lizard and Italian wall lizard, green lizard, Italian three-toed skink, Italian slow worm.
Birds: sparrowhawk, goshawk, kestrel, buzzard, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, lanner falcon, short-toed eagle, hobby, honey buzzard, marsh harrier, barn owl, long-eared owl, tawny owl, little owl, marsh harrier, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, red-necked nightjar, magpie, calandra lark, spotted flycatcher, ortolan bunting, goldfinch, serin.
References
- ↑ The phenomenon of karst is present in Italy in the Montefeltro, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the Ligurian Alps, and Apulia.
- ↑ AA.VV. (1979). "5. Il Montefeltro". Marche [Marche]. Guida d'Italia (in italiano). Touring club italiano. p. 214. ISBN 978-88-365-0013-0. Retrieved 2022-01-17. Search this book on
- ↑ "Il Sasso Simone" [The Sasso di Simone]. comune.carpegna.pu.it (in italiano). Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ↑ "La città del Sole" [The City of the Sun]. comune.carpegna.pu.it (in italiano). Archived from the original on 2021-10-17. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ↑ "Decreto 30 marzo 2009, "Secondo elenco SIC regione bioenergetica continentale"" [Decree 30 March 2009, "Second list of SICs in the continental biogeographic region"]. arbea.basilicata.it (in italiano). Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ↑ "Elenco Ufficiale delle Aree Naturali Protette - 5º Aggiornamento 2003" [Official List of Natural Protected Areas - 5th Update 2003] (PDF). minambiente.it (in italiano). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2022-01-17. Unknown parameter
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Bibliography
- Coppi, Enrico (1993). La Fortificazione di Sasso Simone [The Fortification of Sasso di Simone] (in italiano). Search this book on
- Renzi, Giancarlo (1993). "Mestieri e quartieri nella città-fortezza del Sasso di Simone in una relazione del 1644" [Trades and neighborhoods in the city-fortress of Sasso di Simone in a 1644 report]. Studi montefeltrani (in italiano). 17.
- Allegretti, Girolamo (1986). "Disfecemi Maremma. Note sulla disertata "città" del Sasso di Simone" [Disfecemi Maremma. Notes on the abandoned “city” of Sasso di Simone]. Studi montefeltrani (in italiano). 13.
- Potito, Amedeo (1971). "Premesse e documenti inediti per la storia della fortezza del Sasso Simone" [Premises and unpublished documents for the history of the Sasso di Simone fortress]. Studi montefeltrani (in italiano). 1.
- Renzi, Giancarlo (1998). "Le chiese del Sasso di Simone in età moderna" [The churches of Sasso di Simone in the modern era]. Studi montefeltrani (in italiano). 19.
- Ermeti, Anna Lia (1995). "Nuovi dati per la pre-protostoria dell'area del Sasso di Simone" [New data for the pre-protohistory of the Sasso di Simone area]. Studi montefeltrani (in italiano). 18.
- Giancarlo Renzi (ed.). Il Sasso di Simone - Scritti di naturalisti toscani del Settecento [Sasso di Simone - Writings of 18th-century Tuscan naturalists] (in italiano). Search this book on
- Amedeo Potito, ed. (1972). La fortezza del Sasso di Simone - Carte e documenti [The fortress of Sasso di Simone - Maps and documents] (in italiano). Monografie Soc. di studi storici del Montefeltro. Search this book on
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