Hi there!

I hope someone can help me.

Ok here is the story.

My family is Italian. My father is from Italy.
The other day we were talking and he told me he vaguely remembered a story about some mountains disaster or tragedy perhaps in Rome or during the rule of the Roman Empire.

Anyway, he said that they were called the "Mountains of Death". In Italian he said "Montana di Morleia" - I am sure that is spelled wrong but I hope that helps.

My question is: When and where was this? and any info would be great or just a link or some better key words to search for this info.

Thank you in advance for your time.
Modechino

Hi Modechino

I tried to find anything on the "Mountains of Death", and numerous Italian translations of that, but couldn't find anything (maybe some of the other members, who are far better at Italian history than I, will).

The only suggestion my (Italian) wife could recall was the massacre of Italians/Jews and children at Fosse Ardeatine, during WW2. This was a German retaliation for the Italian resistance killing some 30+ German soldiers, and Hitler (allegedly at least) gave an order for ten times as many Italians to be killed as a "punishment".

Fosse Ardeatine is just outside Rome, and as the massacre was in tunnels, it is quite possible they could be inside a hill or mountain:-

"Fosse Ardeatine
Via Ardeatina, 174 Rome 00178 - Italy
Phone: +39 (0)6 5136742

http://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/new2.gif
Map (http://www.anitalyattraction.com/italy-attractions-qt/map/fosse-ardeatine.htm)http://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/trans.gifhttp://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/trans.gifThe Fosse Ardeatine can be found behind the Catacombe di Domitilla, which is an old burial site of Christian martyrs. Over three hundred people, mainly Jews, political prisoners, a priest and a 14-year-old boy were executed here during WWII. The Germans, after the massacre, collapsed the tunnels leading to the Chamber of Death in an attempt to destroy all traces of the crime. This modern catacomb can be visited together with the Museum of the Resistance and modern sculptures by Coccia and Basaldella. "

Quoted from : http://www.anitalyattraction.com/italy-attractions-qt/fosse-ardeatine.htm

(paolo - please delete if I'm not supposed to quote direct from another website - the website doesn't say it is prohibited. Thanks)

I hope this is of some help.

Wasn't there a mudslide - where the whole hill collapsed and buried an entire village and killed all the children in the school and they called it "La montana della morte"?

Sorry I cant remember any more about this at the moment and I may be completely wrong anyway.

Would he perhaps be thinking of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD when Pompeii, Herculaneum & other towns were buried & only found some hundreds of years later. The people at the time who didn't realise that Vesuvius was a volcano apparently cried out in their terror that the mountain was on fire and of course it meant death to several thousand inhabitants. Just a thought.

Hi Modechino

I tried to find anything on the "Mountains of Death", and numerous Italian translations of that, but couldn't find anything (maybe some of the other members, who are far better at Italian history than I, will).

The only suggestion my (Italian) wife could recall was the massacre of Italians/Jews and children at Fosse Ardeatine, during WW2. This was a German retaliation for the Italian resistance killing some 30+ German soldiers, and Hitler (allegedly at least) gave an order for ten times as many Italians to be killed as a "punishment".

Fosse Ardeatine is just outside Rome, and as the massacre was in tunnels, it is quite possible they could be inside a hill or mountain:-

"Fosse Ardeatine
Via Ardeatina, 174 Rome 00178 - Italy
Phone: +39 (0)6 5136742

http://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/new2.gif
Map (http://www.anitalyattraction.com/italy-attractions-qt/map/fosse-ardeatine.htm)http://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/trans.gifhttp://www.anitalyattraction.com/shared-images/trans.gifThe Fosse Ardeatine can be found behind the Catacombe di Domitilla, which is an old burial site of Christian martyrs. Over three hundred people, mainly Jews, political prisoners, a priest and a 14-year-old boy were executed here during WWII. The Germans, after the massacre, collapsed the tunnels leading to the Chamber of Death in an attempt to destroy all traces of the crime. This modern catacomb can be visited together with the Museum of the Resistance and modern sculptures by Coccia and Basaldella. "

Quoted from : http://www.anitalyattraction.com/italy-attractions-qt/fosse-ardeatine.htm

(paolo - please delete if I'm not supposed to quote direct from another website - the website doesn't say it is prohibited. Thanks)

I hope this is of some help.

Thank you ALL very much.
A very terrible story. Sad.

But I dont think thats it.




Wasn't there a mudslide - where the whole hill collapsed and buried an entire village and killed all the children in the school and they called it "La montana della morte"?

Sorry I cant remember any more about this at the moment and I may be completely wrong anyway.

Are you refering to the Vaiont Dam tragedy? The mountainside fell into the water and sent the water over the dam and killed around 2000 people back in 1963.

If so, thats not it either. I found that one and he said, nope. :)




Would he perhaps be thinking of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD when Pompeii, Herculaneum & other towns were buried & only found some hundreds of years later. The people at the time who didn't realise that Vesuvius was a volcano apparently cried out in their terror that the mountain was on fire and of course it meant death to several thousand inhabitants. Just a thought.

This one is interesting. I dont know if it is the one he was talking about. It seemed to be a story that he had heard as a child about something that happened A LONG TIME AGO. I will google it some more. Anything else you can find would be appreciated.

Would he perhaps be thinking of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD when Pompeii, Herculaneum & other towns were buried & only found some hundreds of years later. The people at the time who didn't realise that Vesuvius was a volcano apparently cried out in their terror that the mountain was on fire and of course it meant death to several thousand inhabitants. Just a thought.

This is the one I was thinking of.

Hi there!

I hope someone can help me.

Ok here is the story.

My family is Italian. My father is from Italy.
The other day we were talking and he told me he vaguely remembered a story about some mountains disaster or tragedy perhaps in Rome or during the rule of the Roman Empire.

Anyway, he said that they were called the "Mountains of Death". In Italian he said "Montana di Morleia" - I am sure that is spelled wrong but I hope that helps.

My question is: When and where was this? and any info would be great or just a link or some better key words to search for this info.

Thank you in advance for your time.
Modechino

well, if you're still interested, check out this wiki (its one of my favorite sites because of its extensive content)

http://ad79.wetpaint.com/

cheers