Monte Kronio, or ''Monte San Calogero'', is a hill about 7 km from

Sciacca Sciacca (; ; , , , or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Mediterranean Sea. History Thermae was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks, as ...

, a

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

of the

province of Agrigento The province of Agrigento (; ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free Municipal Consortium of Ag ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Description

With a height of 395.48 metres, the hill is composed mostly of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. It is a nature reserve administered by the state forestry agency of the Regione Siciliana. On the mountain is the "Sanctuary of San Calogero," from the 16th century, the Antiquarium and various natural caves which emit geothermal gas, the most well-known of which is the so-called "Stove of San Calogero." Iscrizione

The vast area behind the settlement of Sciacca, which culminates in Monte Kronio, may be the site of an ancient volcano, which even today shows some activity, however slight, through the emission of sulphur vapours. This theory is supported by the presence of

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pr ...

off the coast, a volcanic island forming part of a wider "Empedoclean" system, so it cannot be ruled out that Monte Kronio was a vent of a larger volcanic system in the distant past.

Antiquarium of Monte Kronio

On the mountain there is the "Antiquarium di Monte Kronio - Stufe di S. Calogero" museum, a thermal complex and a series of

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

caves which were used for health purposes in antiquity. The antiquarium was established in the 1980s and contains discoveries from local excavations. The site is managed by the Soprintendenza of cultural heritage for Agrigento.

The "Stove of San Calogero"

The cave with this name is 9.4 metres long and 4.2 metres wide and reaches a maximum height of c. 4 metres. Inside the temperature varies between 36 and 42

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

, depending on the season and time of day. Because of the high temperature, people once spent time in the cave, which was created by

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...

in the territory of the Sicans according to legend, as a cure for

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

, and

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

. Seats, benches and drilled holes into which effected limbs must have been inserted were carved in the interior walls. Following a survey carried out in 1880 by professor Silvestro Zinno on behalf of the comunale council of Sciacca, the comune proposed to turn this into a spa.

Sanctuary of San Calogero

File:Sciacca (AG) - santuario di San Calogero - interno - 05.jpg, The basilica sanctuary of San Calogero File:Sciacca (AG) - santuario di San Calogero - antica immagine.jpg, Some pilgrims at the sanctuary The basilica sanctuary of San Calogero was built in 1530 and belonged to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance from 1948.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

raised it to the status of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

in 1979. It contains a statue of the saint, made by Antonello Gagini.

Ancient winemaking

In 2012

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

jars dating from the fourth millennium BC were found in a cave on Monte Kronio. Organic samples taken from the jars proved to contain

tartaric acid Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes but also in tamarinds, bananas, avocados, and citrus. Its salt (chemistry), salt, potassium bitartrate, commonly known as cream of ta ...

and its salt, confirming the use of the vessel as wine containers. The site is the location of one of the earliest known evidences of

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

, dating back 6000 years, a similar age to the evidence from

Areni Areni () is a village and the center of the Areni Municipality of the Vayots Dzor Province in Armenia. Areni is best known for its wine production, with the majority of wine produced locally from the nearby village of Getap, Vayots Dzor, Getap. ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.parks.it/riserva.monte.s.calogero-Kronio/, title=RNO Monte Kronio Kronio Sciacca Caves of Italy Archaeological sites in the province of Agrigento