Mount Algidus (, "Chilly Mountain") is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban

Volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

in the Alban Hills, about southeast of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called the . It was the site of the ancient Roman Battle of Mount Algidus. The Via Latina, a road that was strategically advantageous in the

military history of Rome A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

, leads to the

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

beside Mount Algidus.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

claimed that a town was founded on the mountain,Dionysius of Halicarnassus, x. 21 & xi. 3. but this has not been verified by modern scholarship. Although an extensive fortification lines the , the hill to the south of the Via Latina, this particular structure is entirely

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and therefore did not exist during the time period described by Dionysius. However, some historical topographers have mistakenly included it on maps meant to illustrate Italy during the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

References

{{coord, 41.7266751, 12.708586, display=title, type:mountain_region:IT-62 Military history of ancient Rome Roman roads in Italy